Dive Brief:
- Senator Ben Sasse (R-Nebraska) released a report Monday on the ACA exchanges, which shows that they have 6% fewer insurers than the 2015 exchanges and close to 66% of U.S. counties had three or fewer insurers to choose from the exchanges this year.
- HHS called Sasse's report "misleading" because it focused on counties instead of where people live, and added that 90% of returning customers had a choice of three or more insurers, the Washington Times reports.
- Another finding in Sasse's report showed there were 289 insurers on the exchanges this year, down from 307 in 2015, after a 21% increase in the number of insurers from 2014 to 2015.
Dive Insight:
The reduced competition is causing rate increases in some areas of the country, Sasse said. However, the average monthly cost in 38 states for those using HealthCare.gov is $106 per month after subsidies, up from $101 per month last year, according to HHS' latest enrollment report.
HHS's enrollment report also showed that the 2015 target of 9.1 million was short by 3% - about 8.8 million signed up by the end of the year. This is a 25% decrease from the beginning of 2015, which had 11.7 million consumers, as previously reported by Healthcare Dive.
The GOP has tried to repeal ObamaCare many times and GOP lawmakers say they are working on "market-oriented" reforms to boost competition by allowing insurers to sell their products across state lines, the Washington Times reported.