The insurer says it’ll walk away from more than two-thirds of exchange markets it participated in this year, dropping from 778 counties to 242 counties next year. Aetna will maintain a presence in just four states, it says — Delaware, Iowa, Nebraska and Virginia — down from 15 states this year.
… Aetna says the market’s financials are unworkable, pointing out that it has lost more than $430 million since January 2014 on its individual products. It’s not the only major player to walk away from the Obamacare exchanges.
“More than 40 payers of various sizes have similarly chosen to stop selling plans in one or more rating areas in the individual public exchanges over the 2015 and 2016 plan years,” CEO Mark Bertolini said in a statement. “As a strong supporter of public exchanges as a means to meet the needs of the uninsured, we regret having to make this decision.”
See Aetna’s announcement: http://aet.na/2aVKWgJ
More for Pros from Paul Demko: http://politico.pro/2aWI6hh
One state feeling the pain: Arizona. Aetna is just the latest insurer to pull out of the state this year — and “means Pinal County, as of now, has no ACA insurers” set to offer plans on the exchange this fall, the Arizona Republic’s Ken Alltucker reports. According to HHS data, there were 9,667 plan selections in Pinal County as of Feb. 1, 2016.
HHS: This doesn’t change the realities on the ground. Marketplace CEO Kevin Counihan pointed to data released last week that the exchange risk pool is getting healthier and less expensive, and suggested that the new market is creating winners and losers.
Democrats: This is a negotiating tactic. The agency also says that Aetna quickly — and conveniently — changed its tune on Obamacare. Bertolini told investors in April that while Aetna was losing money on the exchanges, the early losses were “well, well below” the company’s pain points and “we see this as a good investment.”
Read the full article here.
