Eight battleground states for the Senate are likely to see a reduction in the number of insurers participating in the Obamacare exchanges.
Insurers in Illinois, Wisconsin, Florida, Pennsylvania, Ohio, North Carolina, Arizona, and Missouri are departing the state exchanges due to financial losses, The Hill reported.
These states are also home to some of the most competitive Senate races in the country.
Every county in Ohio is set to lose at least two insurers compared to last year. All of the counties in Pennsylvania, Indiana, Missouri, Arizona, and Illinois are also expected to lose at least one insurer, The Hill reported.
The Hill also reported that Florida, Wisconsin, North Carolina, and Colorado are also expected to lose insurers in half of all counties.
The shrinking number of insurance options could lead to higher premium increases, which could lead to an impact on close Senate races.
Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY) has told Senate Republicans to talk about Obamacare while on the stump in anticipation of the backlash against the premium increases.
“The president promised a marketplace. What you really have here is a monopoly,” Barrasso said in an interview with The Hill. “This isn’t even something that has to be pushed; this is just something that has to be pointed out.”
Some Senate Republicans are taking this advice.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), for example, introduced a bill last week that would exempt people from the individual mandate if they live in a county with fewer than two options for coverage, The Hill reported.
Data shows that one-fifth of Obamacare users will only have one option to choose from this fall when selecting health insurance, according to The Hill.
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