In December the state’s second-largest health insurer, Cheyenne, Wyo.-based WINhealth, closed and left 13,000 members uninsured. This year, with only one insurance company offering plans on the exchange — Cheyenne-based Blue Cross Blue Shield of Wyoming, — previous WINhealth members had to re-enroll for health plans through the ACA. A majority of the 11 percent increase reflects this change, the Casper Star Tribune reported.
Part of the increase is also attributed to laid-off oil, natural gas and coal workers in need of new health plans. Laid-off workers can qualify for special enrollment periods, though data highlighting the increase did not include special enrollment data.
Rural counties saw the largest increases in new enrollees. Big Horn County saw a 123 increase in ACA enrollees, Weston County saw a 91 percent increase and Crook County saw a 78 percent increase. More populated areas also witnessed double digit increases in ACA enrollees, as Natrona County saw a 19 percent increase and Laramie County saw a 15 percent increase, according to the Casper Star Tribune.
One county — Fremont — saw a 13 percent decrease in enrollees. The change is possibly influenced by a large local employer recently required to offer health insurance.
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