FIRST REPORT: Lower prices, more options coming to Ohio marketplace insurance
More options are available in many parts of Ohio this open enrollment after several insurers expanded the number of counties they were selling their plans in.
For 2019, 16 counties in Ohio had only one option. But for those signing up for 2020 plans this open enrollment season, Ohio Department of Insurance reported Logan County is the only county in the state with only one option.
Based on those filings, 29 counties will have two insurers compared to 33 counties last year. All other Ohio counties will have at least three insurers selling exchange products in 2020.
Only a small number of Ohioans — 207,000 out of 8.8 million — sign up for marketplace insurance, and that number has been declining since 2016, when 243,715 selected a plan, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation.
One of the major changes since the exchanges started is that there’s no longer a penalty for being uninsured. The Trump administration also announced last year new rules that allowed for more loosely regulated short-term plans that are cheaper but have less coverage and typically don’t cover people with pre-existing conditions.
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The economy has also been improving and some people have gained health insurance coverage through an employer.
The average premiums will be $5,690 for 2020, down 7.7 percent from the year prior. However, prices have still soared since when the exchanges first started in 2013 when the average premium in Ohio was $2,650.
Many people who buy the insurance pay much less than the average premium since they qualify for subsidies.
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