The GOP Failed to Replace the ACA. Can Congress Fix What’s Wrong?
From left, Senator John Cornyn (R-Texas), Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and Senator John Thune (R-S.D.) speak to the media at the White House on July 19. The senators met with President Trump to discuss the health-care bill.
Photographer: Mark Wilson/Getty Images
With Republican efforts to repeal Obamacare all but dead for the foreseeable future, attention has returned to the state of the Affordable Care Act, which is in limbo. While Republicans like to say the law is collapsing, the reality is far more complicated. Four years after it began offering coverage, Obamacare provides insurance to about 12 million people through private policies purchased on exchanges. Although the system is working as intended in many parts of the country, some insurance marketplaces are beset by serious problems, with insurers raising premiums or pulling out altogether.
About 80 percent of Obamacare enrollees will have at least two insurers to choose from in 2018, the same proportion as this year, according to a Bloomberg News analysis. There are 38 counties, home to a combined 25,000 customers, where no insurance companies plan to offer coverage on the Obamacare exchanges. These counties are mostly rural, with low population density. For instance, while large swaths of Nevada will be without Obamacare insurers, the areas account for just 9 percent of the state’s Obamacare sign-ups.