Health insurer Anthem has announced that it will pull out of Ohio's Affordable Care Act health insurance exchanges, meaning that next year 20 Ohio counties will not be covered by any insurance companies with Obamacare marketplace plans.
The Kaiser Family Foundation noted that Anthem was the only insurer in the Obamacare exchanges for 20 of the state's 88 counties, the Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday.
This is the first time Anthem has withdrawn from state, and the decision has created worry for the 13 other states it has plans in. Currently, Anthem has filed its plans to offer coverage through ACA marketplaces in other states, but that too could change.
Anthem said that the market was "volatile" and that it was becoming "increasingly difficult due to the shrinking individual market as well as continual changes in federal operations, rules, and guidance."
Anthem will offer insurance coverage company in only one Ohio county next year, Pike County. However, the coverage will not be available through Obamacare exchanges.