Obamacare: Fewer Choices

WASHINGTON, Dec. 28 -- Rep. Tom Price, M.D., R-Ga., chairman of the House Budget Committee, issued the following news release:

As a result of Obamacare's poor design, the law's insurance exchanges are collapsing and many health insurance companies are pulling out of the market. That's bad news for patients who now have fewer choices when it comes to picking a health care plan that's best for them and their families. This lack of competition is making health care more expensive and less available for too many Americans.

It's time to repeal Obamacare, give patients more choices, and increase competition to make coverage more affordable.

THE FACTS:

-Many of the nation's largest insurance providers have been forced to withdraw from the Obamacare marketplace after losing billions of dollars, due to insurance regulations that distort the market, apply undue one-size-fits-all requirements, drive up costs, and deter people from purchasing plans.

-With such significant losses, insurers either have had to scale back their presence on the ACA's exchanges or hike premiums to help make up lost revenue. Neither option is a good thing for Americans seeking health insurance.

-A number of insurers have decided to pull back from the marketplace completely, leaving many Americans with only one option from which to buy insurance:

- In 2016, there were 225 counties across the country that only had one insurer offering coverage, and that number has grown to 1,022 counties for 2017.

- In 2017, five states - Alabama, Alaska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, and Wyoming - will have only one insurance provider, as will large sections of Florida, Utah, and Missouri.

- Arizona's Pinal County, where 10,000 individuals had signed up for an exchange plan in 2016, was without a single exchange option until a 51 percent premium hike was approved for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona - the result of a total absence of competition.

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