Nationwide, there have been 82 counties, with nearly 100,000 customers, that at some point this year have been at risk of not having any insurance options in 2018. But state regulators have aggressively worked with insurers to fill those gaps. | Getty Images Ohio insurer fills Obamacare’s last ‘bare’ county

Every county in the country will now have at least one insurer selling Obamacare plans next year.

CareSource agreed to offer coverage in Paulding County, Ohio, a rural area along the Indiana border that was the country's last remaining bare county, the Ohio Department of Insurance announced this morning.


Despite President Donald Trump's claims that Obamacare is "dead" and repeal efforts in Congress, the Ohio announcement is the latest evidence that the health care law's insurance markets are proving to be resilient.

Nationwide, there have been 82 counties, with nearly 100,000 customers, that at some point this year have been at risk of not having any insurance options in 2018. But state regulators have aggressively worked with insurers to fill those gaps.

Ohio initially had 20 counties where no insurer filed to sell individual plans next year, raising the possibility that roughly 12,000 Obamacare customers would lose coverage.

“This is a temporary solution and one that only applies to 2018,” said Ohio Department of Insurance Director Jillian Froment in a statement. “Beyond that, insurers are still looking for predictability in the health insurance market."

Insurers could still decide to drop out of markets in the coming weeks. In most states, they don’t have to sign final contracts until the end of September.

The Trump administration has repeatedly cited dwindling competition as evidence that Obamacare is failing and must be scrapped. Nearly half of the counties nationwide, predominantly in rural areas, will only have one insurer next year.

"Under Obamacare, Americans were promised access to a wide variety of high-quality, affordable coverage options," said HHS spokesman Matt Lloyd. "Obamacare has failed to deliver — an unfortunate reality for the American people who are required to buy Washington-approved health insurance or pay a fine.”

A Senate health committee this week announced it will hold a pair of early September hearings on improving the health care law's insurance markets after the collapse of the GOP's repeal effort.