Rural marketplace shoppers face fewer choices, higher prices, analysis finds

According to new analysis of the ACA marketplace, people living in rural areas had fewer options for coverage and faced higher costs than those living in urban or suburban areas (Source: “Rural Shoppers Face Slim Choices, Steep Premiums On Exchanges,” Kaiser Health News, May 12, 2017).

According the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation study, people living in sparsely populated areas who shopped for coverage on ACA marketplaces in 2017 frequently had just one or two insurers from which to pick and often faced significantly higher premiums than did people in more urban areas.

As insurers finalize plans for participating in the 2018 exchanges, policy experts have speculated that the uncertainty surrounding the Affordable Care Act will lead insurers to continue to pull back from some online marketplaces or exit them altogether, leaving a growing number of people with fewer, pricier options. Insurers in Ohio, like most states, have until mid-June to decide whether they will offer plans in marketplaces.