Marketplace Participation Nears 23K In 16Th District

An estimated 22,900 residents of the Lancaster County-based 16th Congressional District have bought health insurance through Affordable Care Act marketplaces, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.

The nonprofit, a nonpartisan foundation that focuses on health care issues, published an interactive map Tuesday as the 115th Congress begins deliberating on the future of President Barack Obama's landmark health care law, also known as "Obamacare."

The 16th District includes most of Lancaster County, a portion of Berks County that includes Reading, and a small section of Chester County. It is represented by newly elected Rep. Lloyd Smucker, a West Lampeter Republican who vowed to support a repeal of Obamacare.

According to Smucker's campaign website, "Lloyd supports the repeal of Obamacare and will champion legislation to uphold the patient protections that have wide support, like covering pre-existing conditions and allowing children under age 26 to remain covered under their parents' health insurance plan."

The Republican-led Congress and President-elect Donald Trump have vowed to repeal and replace Obama's 2010 health care law, and Thursday morning the Senate took the first step toward overturning it.

As LNP previously reported, 17,407 Lancaster County residents enrolled for health coverage through the Affordable Care Act insurance marketplaces in 2016.

Under Obamacare, uninsured residents who fail to sign up for a plan face fines that average several hundred dollars.

Kaiser Family Foundation's map, which can be viewed at kaiserf.am/2iawIAw, shows the estimated number of people in each U.S. congressional district who enrolled in a health care plan through the insurance marketplaces in 2016.

According to the map, the estimated number of marketplace enrollees ranges from 16,000 to 33,100 in Pennsylvania's 18 congressional districts. The 16th District ranks seventh.

Credit: TBUCKWALTER@LNPNEWS.COM