Death Spiral: 1,476 Counties Will Only Have One Obamacare Exchange Insurer in 2018

Obamacare Here Sign Joe Raedle Getty
Joe Raedle/Getty
Sean Moran

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) reported that 1,476 counties, over 45 percent of counties nationwide, will only have one health insurer on the Obamacare exchanges next year.

The CMS projected that more than 2.6 million Obamacare exchange participants could have only one health insurer in 2018.

The CMS stated that the Obamacare exchanges will no longer have any counties without any insurers. As of August 10, the CMS revealed that 17 counties would not have any insurers. Now, the number of counties with one health insurer has increased from 1,409 to 1,476 counties.

Breitbart News reported that Obamacare continues to experience a “death spiral.”

Prominent mainstream news publications, including the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times, have repeated the Democrats’ talking points that President Donald Trump’s hesitancy on Obamacare subsidies has led to “policy uncertainty” that caused health insurers to hike rates.

The Investor’s Business Daily, however, believes that Medica and other health insurers want to abuse their dominance in Obamacare exchanges to raise premiums and blame Trump instead.

The Investor’s Business Daily editorial charged, “Not surprisingly, Medica has used its newfound monopoly status to push for increasingly higher rates, while trying to pin the blame on President Trump for the increases.”

Obamacare continues to implode as the Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) Committee Chairman Lamar Alexander (R-TN) plans to hold hearings with ranking member Patty Murray (D-WA) on ways to stabilize the Obamacare exchanges.

Former Pennsylvania Sen. Rick Santorum continues to work with Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC), and House Freedom Caucus Chairman Mark Meadows (R-NC) on a comprehensive plan to repeal and replace Obamacare by block granting health care to the states.

President Donald Trump has recently criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for the upper chamber’s inability to pass legislation to repeal and replace Obamacare. Trump also suggested that the Senate should also switch to a 51-vote majority to make it easier to pass necessary legislation such as repealing and replacing Obamacare, tax reform, and funding for the southern border wall.

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