For people living in 19 counties choice is no longer an option. Anthem will be the sole insurer they can purchase a plan from. In 28 counties there will only be two insurance carriers to choose from – Anthem and one other. These 47 counties make up more than half the state of Ohio. This is a far cry from 2016 when Ohio boasted of having at least four insurers in every county.MMO’s PPO plan elimination is even more important for those it will still serve. Their largest number of insured members were enrolled in a PPO product. The PPO network was very robust and allowed members to utilize several hospital systems and specialists. That choice is gone. Going in to 2017 the remaining insurers all utilize narrow networks. For consumers in some counties this means that they cannot have services from the local community hospital that serves them. For others it means that they will have to find new cardiologists or oncologists. This will be especially problematic for outlying communities.
The bad news doesn’t stop there. In addition to less choice, rate increases are estimated to rise nearly 13%. As the only statewide insurer, Anthem is seeking a 9.9% average increase for their plans. Overall this is less than the average but it is relevant to point out that they already had some of the highest rates in the state. Other insurers such as Medicaid managed care providers Caresource and Premier are seeking increases of 13.5% and 39% respectively. Now they will be taking on the additional risk coming from insurers who are losing their shorts in the Obamacare marketplace.
Higher rates, less insurers, and fewer providers. Exactly the opposite of what Obamacare promised.
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