ODI: 19 Ohio counties regain ACA marketplace plans

Officials with the Ohio Department of Insurance announced this week that they have worked with five health care insurers to cover 19 Ohio counties that otherwise wouldn’t have had a health insurance option on the federal health care exchange next year (Source: “Health care in Ohio: 19 counties to again have insurance option,” Associated Press via the Lorain Morning Journal, July 31, 2017).

ODI joined Buckeye Health Plan, CareSource, Medical Mutual of Ohio, Molina Health Care of Ohio and Paramount Health Care in the announcement Monday.

Two major insurers had announced earlier this year that they would leave the exchange in 2018, leaving Ohioans in 20 counties without an option on the exchange. The department’s statement says it’s working to restore coverage in the 20th county, Paulding, before late September.

The 19 counties are: Coshocton, Crawford, Guernsey, Hancock, Harrison, Hocking, Holmes, Jackson, Knox, Lawrence, Logan, Morgan, Muskingum, Noble, Perry, Van Wert, Vinton, Williams and Wyandot.