Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman is renewing his call for a replacement for the Affordable Care Act after health insurer Anthem announced it will pull out of the state’s Obamacare exchanges.
Anthem is the only insurer under Obamacare to cover all 88 counties in Ohio.
The company’s departure means 18 counties in the state could have no insurance plan by next year. Another 26 counties would only have one insurer.
Portman says the announcement is an important example of the need to fix Obamacare.
“Whether Hillary Clinton had been elected or Democrats had taken over a majority of the Senate, regardless, we would have had to fix this. We’ve seen premiums and deductibles skyrocket, and we’ve seen fewer choices; this is a good example of that.”
In a press release today, Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown blamed the uncertainty created by GOP efforts to repeal Obamacare for Anthem’s decision to leave.
