The Obama administration has announced that it will handpick plans for individuals who have lost health insurance due to insurers leaving the exchanges, the Associated Press reported.
"Worried that insurers bailing out of the health law’s markets may prompt their customers to drop out, too, the Obama administration plans to steer affected policyholders to remaining insurance companies," the AP wrote. "But those consumers could get an unwelcome surprise if their new government-recommended plan isn’t what they’re used to."
The Obama administration authored a document that was circulated with insurers and state regulators and called for reminders for those with cancelled health insurance to sign up during open enrollment. Those individuals may receive 20 reminders between Nov. 21 and Dec. 15, which is the deadline to get coverage before the new year begins.
"Around the second week of November, consumers whose insurers are leaving the market will get a notice that HealthCare.gov has matched them to another plan," the article stated. "They could also receive materials from the new insurer, including a welcome kit and a bill."
Many insurers such as Aetna, UnitedHealthcare, and BlueCross BlueShield have announced exits in the Obamacare exchanges, forcing many Americans off of their current plans and struggling to find a new one. Additionally, there are 17 co-ops that have failed of the 23 that were originally created out of Obamacare, which leaves only six operating.
"With the markets struggling, administration officials worry that insurer exits could complicate their desire to deliver strong sign-up numbers in the president’s last year," the article stated. "So they are leaving nothing to chance."
An estimated 1 million Americans could receive the notices from the Obama administration.