Connecticut: UnitedHealthcare dropping out impacts...1,600 people.

To be clear: UnitedHealthcare dropping out of almost all of the 34 states they're operating in this year is not good news by any means. So far they've only confirmed sticking around Virginia and Nevada, while confirming that they won't be available in 13 others so far: AR, CT, GA, LA, MI, MO, NE, NC, OK, PA, TN, TX, WA.

However, it's also worth keeping in mind that in many of these states, United has a pretty small presence to begin with. Case in point: Connecticut:

LT. GOVERNOR WYMAN, ACCESS HEALTH CT CEO WADLEIGH STATEMENTS ON UNITED HEALTHCARE ANNOUNCEMENT

(HARTFORD, CT) – Lieutenant Governor Nancy Wyman, Chair of the Access Health CT (AHCT) Board, and AHCT CEO Jim Wadleigh today issued the following statements on the announcement that in 2017, United Healthcare is pulling out of most state healthcare marketplaces:

Lt. Governor Wyman said, “Healthcare exchanges throughout the country are impacted by United Healthcare’s decision, so first and foremost, we want to assure Connecticut customers that their health benefits remain unchanged through the end of the year. We are confident that in the next open enrollment, all of our consumers will continue to find the healthcare plans that best meet their needs. State exchanges will have some fluctuation, but AHCT will continue to meet the needs of Connecticut residents.”

“United Healthcare has a Connecticut footprint, they have been a good partner and we are pleased that they were among the first to join the exchange,” said CEO Wadleigh. “Be assured that the team at Access Health CT is dedicated to making this transition as smooth as possible as their customers re-enter the marketplace in 2017. We will reach out to the consumers who auto-renew and help them choose a new plan. The Affordable Care Act creates a dynamic marketplace, which is exactly what we want for consumers.”

As of April 11, 2016, United Healthcare had 1,477 Connecticut enrollees, representing 1.3 percent of AHCT’s total enrollment. Sixty-one percent of those enrollees live in Fairfield County. In the small business market, United Healthcare had 18 employers representing 124 residents. Between the second and third open enrollment periods, the number of enrollees in the United Healthcare plan declined by 18 percent.

The next open enrollment period begins November 1, 2016 and runs through January 31, 2017.

That's a grand total of 1,601 people currently enrolled in exchange-based UnitedHealthcare policies across all of Connecticut...out of around 116,000 people total.

Other states such as North Carolina and Louisiana obviously face much larger disruption, with tens of thousands of enrollees apiece, but others only have a handful of enrollees...or just 1, in the case of Missouri.