More U.S. counties to see Obamacare marketplace monopoly: analysis

By Trevor Hunnicutt NEW YORK (Reuters) - Nearly a third of U.S. counties will likely be served by only one insurer that participates in an Affordable Care Act (ACA) marketplace in 2017, according to an analysis published Sunday by the Kaiser Family Foundation. The 31 percent of U.S. counties that will have just a single option of insurers within the ACA's exchanges would represent an increase from 7 percent this year, the nonpartisan group found. UnitedHealth Group Inc and Aetna Inc have decided to largely exit government-run online marketplaces in 2017 that sell subsidized plans created under President Barack Obama's national healthcare reform law, citing low enrollment and high service costs.