Rural areas lead decline in Obamacare policies' enrollment

As enrollment in Obamacare health-insurance policies declines nationwide, rural areas are leading the fleeing, Sarah Melotte reports for The Daily Yonder and its Rural Index.

The Affordable Care Act policies have become less affordable because Congress did not renew premium subsidies that were implemented during the Covid-19 pandemic and extended in the Biden administration.    "People who are no longer eligible for these subsidies have accounted for a disproportionate share of health insurance coverage drops, resulting in increases in monthly premiums for nearly all consumers." Melotte reports.

Melotte looked at the 30 states that used the national marketplace platform for Obamacare policies and found a 12 percent drop in rural counties, defined as those outside metropolitan areas, "representing 29,000 consumers," she writes. "Small metropolitan counties saw a drop of 11%, representing about 154,000 consumers, the next largest decrease in enrollment among all of the county types."

(Charts by Sarah Melotte, The Rural Index)