UnitedHealth Group’s exodus will have very real impacts for North Carolina in 2017. Just two insurance providers, Blue Cross and Blue Shield and Coventry, a subsidiary of Aetna, will be offering federally-approved health plans to those who do not receive insurance benefits through their employer. United currently provides insurance in 77 of the state’s 100 counties. Moving forward, one quarter of North Carolina’s 600,000 exchange enrollees, those who reside in 39 counties will lose their second insurer option and be left with Blue Cross and Blue Shield as their only one.
The pickings are slim for some as is. After entering information to make it appear that I qualify for a special enrollment period on healthcare.gov, North Carolina’s federal exchange portal in which consumers can shop for individual policies and compare plans offered in their respective zip codes, I was able to determine that 23 counties are already limited to just one option – Blue Cross and Blue Shield.
The map below shows the number of insurance companies offering health plans on North Carolina’s federal exchange. The dark blue counties, concentrated in the northeast, currently have just one insurer offering plans. Those in light blue will have only one from 2017 once United ceases to participate.
What will the exchange landscape look like for those 62 counties in years to come?
Read more from my latest Health Care Update here.
