Uncertainty Persists About Future Of Arizona ACA Marketplace

By Will Stone
Published: Wednesday, April 12, 2017 - 3:05pm

Uncertainty persists in Arizona about the future of the Affordable Care Act’s marketplace.

After the U.S. House failed to pass the GOP’s replacement for the ACA, President Donald Trump said marketplaces would "implode," citing triple-digit premium increases in places like Arizona. While the majority of people did not feel that because of subsidies, it’s still unclear whether insurers will come back to the individual marketplace given the new administration's stance on the health-care law.

Last year, nearly every county in the state had only one carrier.

Andy Slavitt was director of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services under the Obama administration.

Slavitt said Trump can ensure Arizona again has a robust marketplace if he so chooses.

“The administration needs to make a decision. If they are going to operate the exchanges in a way that is only in service of passing a repeal by basically trying to starve the law, and say see it’s broken, it’s an emergency, we need to fix it," Slavitt told KJZZ.

"That's a very concerted strategy that could leave people potentially hurt and in all likelihood leave them (the administration) accountable," he said.

Slavitt said the administration needs to work with insurers so they offer plans, enforce the individual mandate and commit to outreach efforts.

When asked what could happen if there are no insurers in the marketplace, Slavitt responded: "There's absolutely no reason for that to happen."