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How Many Options Will Virginians Have for ACA Health Insurance Providers?

AP Photo / Andrew Harnik

Last month, Republicans predicted the Affordable Care Act was on the verge of collapse, but now insurance companies are starting to make plans for the coming year. And so far, Virginia’s marketplace for subsidized health insurance remains strong.

Only one of the eight insurance providers in Virginia’s marketplace won’t offer coverage next year. The three largest providers say they’ll stay on --- including Anthem, the only company to provide health insurance in much of rural Virginia. Jill Hanken is with the Virginia Poverty Law Center.

“While we do have some parts of Virginia that are only served by one insurance company, in most parts of Virginia there’s good competition and a choice of health companies to choose from.”

Virginia can count itself lucky in that regard, says Cynthia Cox with the Kaiser Family Foundation.

“In Virginia, at least so far, it’s looking like every county could continue to have coverage. But in some other parts of the country there might be some counties where there aren’t any insurers participating, and that’s going to raise a lot of questions.”

Nothing’s final yet -- insurance providers have until late summer to make a final determination.

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