Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona said late Wednesday it will reverse its decision to leave the Obamacare marketplace in Pinal County, ensuring residents there will have a health plan available to them next year.
The county was previously thought to be without any Obamacare insurers next year, after Blue Cross and other insurers said they would no longer sell in the area due to heavy losses.
But the insurer said it re-evaluated Pinal out of concern for 10,000 marketplace plan customers who would be left with no options, and is now working to get final approval from the Department of Health and Human Services to sell there for the upcoming enrollment season.
“We are committed to serving these areas in 2017,” Blue Cross President Rich Boals said in a statement.
The situation had led to widespread criticism by Republicans, who have pointed to less competition in the marketplaces this year as proof that the law isn’t working as intended.
