Obamacare's Impact on Rural America

Statement

Last week, this article in the New York Times looked at the impact Obamacare will have on rural America. Specifically, it detailed why this law fails to lower health insurance prices for rural areas. The article reads, in part:

"While competition is intense in many populous regions, rural areas and small towns have far fewer carriers offering plans in the law's online exchanges. Those places, many of them poor, are being asked to choose from some of the highest-priced plans in the 34 states where the federal government is running the health insurance marketplaces, a review by The New York Times has found."

Rural areas often contain only one or two insurance providers. By the rules of basic economics, these numbers are not sufficient to create the kind of competition that drives down costs. Unfortunately, Arkansas is experiencing this firsthand. As most of you know, a large portion of our state is rural. It's part of our heritage and I know few Arkansans that would trade a rural way of life for anything else. In fact, I think there are many in Washington who could benefit from the values and hard-work that come with a rural upbringing. But in this instance, it's costing Arkansans more.

In May, Arkansas Director of Insurance Jay Bradford was quoted as saying "up to eight" insurance providers would be providing coverage in Arkansas. But that's a far cry from the numbers we're seeing today. Just take a look at this map. In three out of seven areas, there is only one provider (Blue Cross Blue Shield), while in Northeast Arkansas there are only two providers. That means that in 60% of Arkansas counties, there is effectively no competition between providers.

This lack of competition will mean higher premiums for rural Arkansans, which will crush family budgets. Some may even find it more cost effective to go without coverage and pay the government penalty instead. Isn't this what President Obama and his liberal allies pledged Obamacare would fix?

A better approach would be to allow Arkansans to purchase healthcare across state lines. There is no reason someone living in Texarkana, Arkansas should be charged $600 a year more than someone in Texarkana, Texas. Obamacare's devastating impact on rural America is yet another example of the law's inherent failures. And yet another reason we should fully repeal this unworkable law.

Source