Report: More insurers entering ACA marketplaces

More insurance companies are entering Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplaces bringing more options for patients.

According to an analysis from the Kaiser Family Foundation, this is the third straight year that insurers are entering the marketplaces and expanded their services. Specifically, 30 insurers joined the marketplaces across 20 states.

A further 61 insurers expanded their services within states where they have already served. More than a third of counties about 38 percent, will have more insurers serving their marketplaces, while only 0.4 percent will see a net decrease, according to the analysis.

These moves over the past several years has sharply increased the number of options available to patients. About 78 percent of marketplace enrollees will be able to choose from at least three insurers. This is up from 48 percent in 2018. Meanwhile, only three percent of enrollees only have a single insurer serving their county. This is down from 26 percent in 2018, the analysis says.

The amount of insurer participation varies greatly within states and rural areas tend to have fewer insurers than metropolitan areas. Marketplace open enrollment runs through Dec. 15 in states using the healthcare.gov marketplace and later in most state-run markets