HHS Reports 2015 Marketplace will Have 25% More Issuers, Greater Choices and Competition

According to a report released by the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), consumers will have more choices as they shop health coverage during the next open enrollment period on the health insurance marketplace for 2015 coverage. HHS said there will be a net 25% increase in the number of issuers offering marketplace coverage in 2015, with a total of 77 new issuers. 

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

The HHS report examined preliminary data from 36 states run or fully supported by the federal government plus 8 states operating state-based marketplaces. They found that a larger set of insurance issuers will offer plans in the marketplaces, specifically:

• The federal marketplace states alone will have 57 more issuers in 2015; a 30% net increase
• The 8 state-based marketplaces where data is already available will have 6 additional issuers in 2015, a 10% net increase
• Four of the 36 states in the federal marketplace will have at least double the number of issuers they had in 2014
• In total, 36 of 44 states will have at least 1 new issuer next year

The report’s findings are preliminary.—Kerri Fitzgerald