U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO) pressed the Obama administration on Friday for information about health insurance options and rate increases that Missourians will see on Affordable Care Act (ACA) exchanges next year.
In a letter to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Sylvia Burwell, Blunt noted that information had not been made available despite reports that many Missourians would see fewer health insurance options and higher rates on exchanges.
“Based on the Kaiser Family Foundation report that was released in August, and conversations with my constituents, it appears that only eleven counties in Missouri (including the City of St. Louis) will have more than one option of health insurers on the marketplace exchanges next year,” Blunt wrote. “This is in stark contrast to the options that Missourians had for this year, where every county had at least three insurers participating in the marketplace exchanges.”
An estimated 85 percent of counties in Missouri will have just one marketplace insurer in 2017, compared to 2 percent of counties this year, the Kaiser Family Foundation reports.
“News reports also indicate that health insurers have submitted requests for significant rate hikes next year,” Blunt wrote. “Families in my state, and across the country, are being hit hard by the consequences of the president’s health care law. The least they deserve is the opportunity to be able to plan for the future as best they can. Therefore, I request that you immediately release information on which insurers will participate in the marketplace exchanges, as well as the rate increases that CMS recently approved.”
Health insurers had to decide if they would participate in ACA exchanges by Sept. 23, but information about marketplace participation has not been made available despite the open enrollment deadline of Nov. 1 approaching.