Aetna Inc. will stop selling federally subsidized health-insurance policies in Kentucky and 10 other states, remaining only in Virginia, Delaware, Iowa and Nebraska, it said Aug. 15. The company is "joining other major insurers that have pulled out of the government-run markets in the face of mounting losses," notes Zachary Tracer of Bloomberg News.
"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, collectively exiting hundreds of rating areas in more than 30 states," Aetna said in a news release. "As a strong supporter of public exchanges as a means to meet the needs of the uninsured, we regret having to make this decision."
Aetna had filed and received state approval to sell plans for 2017 in Boone, Campbell, Kenton, Fayette, Madison, Jefferson, Oldham, Trimble, Henry and Owen counties.
Nationally, the company said it will sell policies on state and federal insurance exchanges in only 242 counties, down from 778 this year. It will continue to offer individual policies off the exchanges, and thus without federal subsidy, "in the vast majority of counties where it offered individual public exchange products in 2016," the release said.
"The decision is the latest blow to President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy accomplishment," Tracer reports. "While the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, has brought coverage to millions, the new markets have proven volatile for some of the largest for-profit insurers. Aetna said earlier this year that it expected to lose $300 million on the plans. UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Humana Inc., which Aetna has agreed to buy for $37 billion, are also pulling out after posting hundreds of millions of dollars of losses."
Kevin Counihan, who oversees Obamacare marketplaces for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told Bloomberg News, “Aetna’s decision to alter its marketplace participation does not change the fundamental fact that the Health Insurance Marketplace will continue to bring quality coverage to millions of Americans next year.”
"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, collectively exiting hundreds of rating areas in more than 30 states," Aetna said in a news release. "As a strong supporter of public exchanges as a means to meet the needs of the uninsured, we regret having to make this decision."
Aetna had filed and received state approval to sell plans for 2017 in Boone, Campbell, Kenton, Fayette, Madison, Jefferson, Oldham, Trimble, Henry and Owen counties.
Nationally, the company said it will sell policies on state and federal insurance exchanges in only 242 counties, down from 778 this year. It will continue to offer individual policies off the exchanges, and thus without federal subsidy, "in the vast majority of counties where it offered individual public exchange products in 2016," the release said.
"The decision is the latest blow to President Barack Obama’s signature domestic policy accomplishment," Tracer reports. "While the Affordable Care Act, known as Obamacare, has brought coverage to millions, the new markets have proven volatile for some of the largest for-profit insurers. Aetna said earlier this year that it expected to lose $300 million on the plans. UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Humana Inc., which Aetna has agreed to buy for $37 billion, are also pulling out after posting hundreds of millions of dollars of losses."
Kevin Counihan, who oversees Obamacare marketplaces for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, told Bloomberg News, “Aetna’s decision to alter its marketplace participation does not change the fundamental fact that the Health Insurance Marketplace will continue to bring quality coverage to millions of Americans next year.”
from Kentucky Health News http://ift.tt/2bEigyz Aetna says it will stop selling Obamacare policies in Ky.; affects only 10 counties, but in three major metropolitan areasHealthy Care
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