HEALTHCARE: Republicans Say Obamacare Exchanges Are "Fragile". What’s the solution?

What’s the story?

Competing health care plans are still circulating in Congress with a deadline approaching for insurers to commit to offering plans for 2018. Republicans who still want to dismantle Obamacare have touted the many counties who have lost insurers as evidence that Obamacare is collapsing, but that may not be true.

Why does it matter?

Politico reports that state insurance commissioners have been working tirelessly to address the loss of insurers in some counties. At various times as many as 80 counties, and 92,000 individuals have been at risk of having no plan option in 2018. However, as of Sunday there is only one county in the whole country where there still is a risk of having no available plans on the exchanges. That is Paulding County in rural Ohio, and they had only 334 Obamacare enrollees in 2017.

Unfortunately, still, having ‘an’ option leaves no competition in the healthcare marketplaces that the Affordable Care Act created. This situation represents a great business opportunity for those insurers who’ve been willing to step up and provide a plan, but it’s not great for consumers. With no competition, insurers can set rates for maximum profits, with no concern they’ll be undercut by competing health insurance providers.

Under the Obama administration the federal government focused energy and resources on courting insurers to join the exchanges to foster competition and drive prices down. The Trump administration has left this work entirely up to the states.

Additionally, the Trump Administration’s desire to see the ACA fail has sent many insurers running from the exchanges out of fear that the administration will refuse to provide cost-sharing reduction subsidies. This can result in fewer health care options and higher prices for American consumers.

What is Congress doing?

The Wall Street Journal reports that there are two main plans being developed currently in the Senate. A bipartisan plan being formulated by Sens. Lamar Alexander (R-TN), chairman of the Senate’s health committee, and Patty Murray (D-WA), ranking Democrat, would preserve the cost-sharing subsidies in exchange for giving states more flexibility in Obamacare implementation. The two lawmakers have scheduled two weeks of hearings on the plan in September, following the current recess.

Sens. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) and Bill Cassidy (R-LA) are touting a plan that would largely topple most of Obamacare, and is gaining traction amongst Republicans. It would give states the billions of dollars spent on Obamacare to create their own health-care approaches. It also would end the individual mandate, the requirement that most people purchase insurance or pay a penalty. The plan would essentially eliminate the cost-sharing subsidies, but provide block grants to the states, who would decide what they want to do.

Insurers are supposed to file their 2018 premiums by September 5. By September 20, states must submit completed rate plans to federal officials. Ultimately, insurers have until Sept. 27 to sign federal contracts to offer 2018 plans. That gives lawmakers 12 legislative days to decide if they are going to shore up existing markets: protecting consumers against rate hikes and promoting competition within the current health care marketplaces.

With only one county currently left without any plan options, which direction makes sense to you?

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What do you think?

Do you support a bipartisan effort to shore up Obamacare or do you think more control should be returned to the states? Does news that exchange plans are available in most of the country a game-changer for you?

Tell us in the comments and then use the Take Action button to tell your reps what you think!

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— Asha Sanaker

(Photo Credit: Pixnio.com / Creative Commons)