Aetna Plans 2018 Exit from All ACA Exchanges

Aetna has apparently had enough of trying in vain to make participation in Affordable Care Act (ACA, or “Obamacare) exchanges profitable, and will exit all ACA exchanges for the 2018 coverage year. They follow a long line of insurers who already checked out, complaining that the ACA program simply made it impossible to conduct business, economically.  Aetna announced their plans right after revealing that they’d drastically reduce their exchange business for the 2017 coverage year, selling plans only in Delaware, Iowa, Nebraska, and Virginia this year. Aetna will become the second major insurer to completely exit the exchanges, following Humana’s lead. Others, including UnitedHealthGroup dramatically reduced their participation in ACA exchanges. Aetna says it lost $450 million last year on the nearly one million individuals enrolled in its individual health plans sold both on and off the exchanges. Both the Trump administration and Democratic legislators have already blamed each other for Aetna’s move. Health and Humans Services Secretary Tom Price said Aetna’s withdrawal “adds to the mountain of evidence that Obamacare has failed the American people,” while Democrats say President Trump’s policies and attempts to replace the ACA have created too much “uncertainty” for insurers.