U.S. Sens. John McCain (R-AZ) and Jeff Flake (R-AZ) reacted to reports on Friday that a second major insurer would withdraw from Affordable Care Act (ACA) health exchanges next year.
The withdrawal of Phoenix Health Plans from ACA health insurance exchanges in Arizona will leave just one provider offering plans in Maricopa County, the most populous county in the state.
“After requesting an average premium rate increase of 122 percent to coverage massive losses on the Obamacare exchanges, Phoenix Health Plans, Inc., has announced it will no longer offer health insurance plans in the federal marketplace next year,” McCain said. “As a result, there will be only one health insurance option in the Obamacare exchanges in Maricopa County – Arizona’s most populous county – impacting about 128,000 people. This is down from the eight health insurance options that Maricopa County residents had in 2016. The news comes after Pinal County became the first county in America to be left without a single provider in the Obamacare marketplace.”
McCain added that it “has always been clear that Obamacare was based on empty promises,” and that countless Arizonans will now be left to pick up the pieces.
“This failed law will only continue to crumble unless we repeal and replace it with solutions that put patients back in charge of their health care,” McCain said.
McCain wrote a letter to the Obama administration on Thursday requesting an explanation for how it plans to address the coverage gap for citizens of Pinal County as a result of Aetna’s recent decision to withdraw from the ACA marketplace.
“Aetna’s recent decision to drastically scale back its participation in the Obamacare marketplace means that Pinal County, Arizona, is the only county in the nation currently without a single health provider on the Obamacare exchanges,” McCain said. “The Obama administration must answer to the roughly 10,000 citizens of Pinal County who may be left with no options when it comes to their health care.”
McCain has introduced legislation that would repeal the ACA and replace it with a healthcare system that puts patients in charge of healthcare decisions.
“Obamacare is an unmitigated disaster in Arizona,” Flake said. “The exchanges for 13 of the state’s 15 counties are devoid of competition because they are left with only a single insurer willing to sell coverage. Another county’s exchange has the dubious distinction of being the first in the nation to be completely abandoned by providers. With the administration’s inability to even answer questions on how Arizonans should proceed in the face of unjustifiable financial penalties, I will be introducing a legislative solution to deliver exemptions first thing next week.”