Oklahoma may lose its last insurer on the healthcare marketplace next year, reports KFOR.The number of insurers on the Oklahoma exchange has fallen after several carriers sustained significant losses.
Oklahoma Insurance Commissioner John D. Doak noted the “absence of legislative action to create a solution that can restore the stability of our health insurance system.”
In response, he has vowed to work with insurers to encourage participation. One possible solution Doak has proposed is to allow insurers to sell coverage across state lines. But critics of this plan have noted that insurers have never been enthusiastic about across-state-lines plans. Building a national provider network is extremely difficult, and could lead insurers to locate their operations in states with very little regulation, as has happened with credit card-companies. This could ultimately hurt patients.
Now that Obamacare will remain the law of the land, it’s up to lawmakers to fix the legislation going forward.