Trending News Today: Insurance Exchange Withdrawal Could Limit Health Plan Options

The Obama administration has set new rules for Medicaid plans that will gradually change over the next several years. One change mandates that states will have to set rules to ensure there are enough physicians that are not too far away from members. According to Kaiser Health News, this rule and multiple others seek to improve healthcare services for enrollees.

With UnitedHealthcare withdrawing from insurance exchanges, patients paying more for coverage and having fewer network providers is a growing concern. Lee and Collier counties in Florida will be affected most, according to Kaiser Health News, as 80,000 consumers in those counties could only have 1 plan option. Oklahoma and Tulsa counties in Oklahoma would have 60,000 consumers with 1 plan as well.

California Senator Ricardo Lara’s proposed bill to provide undocumented immigrants with the opportunity to purchase health plans has received much scrutiny. Since federal assistance would not be provided to purchase the health plans, some are saying that this a merely a symbolic gesture since most undocumented immigrants would not be able to afford the premiums, Kaiser Health News states in an article. Some critics also say that this bill will generate a lot of attention especially during an election year.