Marketplaces Will Have 25% More Insurers in 2015

The health insurance Marketplace will have 77 new insurers offering coverage in 2015, according to a report released by HHS. Overall, there will be a net 25% increase in the number of insurers that consumers will be able to choose from.

The report used preliminary data from 36 states with the federal Marketplace, plus 8 states operating their own state-based Marketplaces. There are expected to be 67 insurers offering plans in states with federally run Marketplaces.

Michigan, Ohio, and Texas are expected to have the largest number of insurers (16) for states using the federal Marketplace. Among the states with their own Marketplaces, New York and Colorado have the greatest number of insurers (17 and 12, respectively).

While there are insurers exiting the Marketplace, the number of new entrants is expected to be more than 5 times the number of those leaving among the 44 states analyzed, according to the report.

In the federal Marketplace, there will be 57 more insurers, which is a 30% net increase. Among the state-based Marketplaces for which data is already available, there will be a total of 6 or more insurers, which represents a 10% net increase over this year.

“When consumers have more choices, we all benefit,” HHS Secretary Sylvia M. Burwell, said in a statement. “In terms of affordability, access, and quality, today’s news is very encouraging. It’s a real sign that the Affordable Care Act is working.”

At this point, 10 insurers in the federal Marketplace, and 4 in the state-based Marketplaces that offered plans in 2014 have yet to file for participation in 2015, according to the report.

According to the report, it looks like some of the largest insurers in the nation are increasing participation in the Marketplaces in 2015. Participation by large insurers can significantly reduce premiums.

“Previous research has found that the number of issuers in a rating area is associated with more affordable premiums for benchmark plans (a 4% decrease in the premium of the second-lowest cost silver plan) for individuals and reduced costs for the federal government,” authors Munira Z. Gunja and Emily R. Gee, wrote in the report.