Another one bites the dust.
Hartford, Connecticut-based Aetna has said goodbye to the Affordable Care Act exchanges. On Wednesday it announced plans to withdraw from all ACA markets in 2018.
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“At this time have completely exited the exchanges,” the insurer said in a statement, according to Bloomberg.
The decision only impacts two states: Nebraska and Delaware.
But the choice may leave Nebraska with only one insurer: Medica, which has already pulled back its offerings. “We have not made a decision and are reviewing all of our options,” Medica spokesman Greg Bury told Bloomberg.
And Highmark Blue Cross Blue Shield would be the only ACA insurer in Delaware.
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Aetna blamed its departure on financial reasons. “Our individual Commercial products lost nearly $700 million between 2014 and 2016, and are projected to lose more than $200 million in 2017 despite a significant reduction in membership,” the health insurer said in a statement, according to The Hill.
Despite Aetna pulling the plug on Nebraska and Delaware, the insurer may not completely be out of the ACA exchanges, as Nevada officials were allegedly convincing the insurer to enter the state’s exchanges. But spokesman T.J. Crawford told Bloomberg Aetna had “no comment on a potential Nevada presence at this time.”
Aetna’s announcement is perhaps not a surprising one for avid followers. Last August, Aetna dropped out of the ACA markets in 11 states, including Florida, Pennsylvania and North Carolina, according to Bloomberg. In April, it said it wouldn’t sell individual plans in Iowa, according to the Hartford Courant. And last week, Aetna revealed plans to withdraw from Virginia.
The insurer’s departure points to a larger trend among health insurers with ACA plans. Insurers like UnitedHealth Group have scaled back on their offerings, and earlier this year, Humana announced plans to pull out of all ACA exchange markets in 2018.
2017 hasn’t been a particularly positive year for Aetna. In January, a federal judge blocked the proposed $37 billion merger between Aetna and Humana on antitrust grounds. Then on Valentine’s Day, Aetna and Humana officially terminated their merger agreement. “While we continue to believe that a combined company would create greater value for healthcare consumers through improved affordability and quality, the current environment makes it too challenging to continue pursuing the transaction,” Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini said in a press release at the time.
Last week, the health insurer reported a first quarter net loss of $381 million, which it attributed to the terminated Humana deal.
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