21ST CENTURY QUESTIONS: What if your Obamacare insurer has left the business?

The result is a substantial increase in the number of people who’ll be changing health care plans during the 2017 open-enrollment period. Many will have only one insurer left in their exchange selling multiple plans. According to Kaiser Family Foundation, only 60 percent of exchange members nationwide will have three or more insurers to choose from, compared to 85 percent during 2016’s open enrollment.

What can you do if you’ve been abandoned by your insurer? You’ll need to keep an eye on the government’s efforts to match consumers with another plan to make sure you understand what’s happening. You’ll also need to do some due diligence on your own. The following advice from Joel Ario, a previous director of Health and Human Services and managing director of consulting firm, Manatt Health, may help.

Letting government do the shopping has never proven to be a good way of getting the best prices, historically speaking.

RELATED: It’s official: Double-digit rate hikes for Obamacare.

All of this, of course, means it’s working.