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Ohio's Sen. Rob Portman Renews His Push for AFA Replacement After Anthem Withdraws from Ohio

In the past, Sen. Rob Portman has assured Ohioans that the GOP's repeal and replace method for Obamacare would not impact them.
U.S. SENATE
In the past, Sen. Rob Portman has assured Ohioans that the GOP's repeal and replace method for Obamacare would not impact them.
In the past, Sen. Rob Portman has assured Ohioans that the GOP's repeal and replace method for Obamacare would not impact them.
Credit U.S. SENATE
/
U.S. SENATE
In the past, Sen. Rob Portman has assured Ohioans that the GOP's repeal and replace method for Obamacare would not impact them.

Ohio Republican Sen. Rob Portman is renewing his call for a replacement for the Affordable Care Act after health insurer Anthem announced it will pull out of the state’s Obamacare exchanges.

Anthem is the only insurer under Obamacare to cover all 88 counties in Ohio.

The company’s departure means 18 counties in the state could have no insurance plan by next year. Another 26 counties would only have one insurer.

Portman says the announcement is an important example of the need to fix Obamacare.

“Whether Hillary Clinton had been elected or Democrats had taken over a majority of the Senate, regardless, we would have had to fix this. We’ve seen premiums and deductibles skyrocket, and we’ve seen fewer choices; this is a good example of that.”

In a press release today, Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown blamed the uncertainty created by GOP efforts to repeal Obamacare for Anthem’s decision to leave.

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Mitch Felan is a news intern for WKSU. He is a multimedia journalist with experience in print, television, radio and visual journalism. Felan is a junior at Kent State University, working towards a Bachelor's Degree in Multimedia Journalism. During the school year, Felan works for Kent State Student Media in TV2, The Kent Stater, and KentWired. He will be serving as the Digital Director for Kent State University's Student Media Newsroom in the Fall.