Aetna To DOJ: Block Humana Merger And We’ll Pull Out Of ACA Markets
A letter from Aetna's CEO reveals a clear threat to the Department of Justice that if it challenged Aetna's proposed merger with Humana it would need to take immediate action to "to mitigate public exchange and ACA small group losses." Meanwhile, the departure highlights an intrinsic problem with the law -- it incentivizes insurers to misplace risk.
Huffington Post:
Aetna CEO Threatened Obamacare Pullout If Feds Opposed Humana Merger
The big health care news this week came from Aetna, which announced on Monday it was dramatically scaling back participation in the Affordable Care Act ― thereby reducing insurer competition and forcing customers scattered across 11 states to find different sources of coverage next year. ... the move also was directly related to a Department of Justice decision to block the insurer’s potentially lucrative merger with Humana, according to a letter from Aetna’s CEO obtained by The Huffington Post. (Cohn and Young, 8/17)
The Wall Street Journal:
The Unstable Economics In Obama’s Health Law
Barack Obama’s signature health-care law is struggling for one overriding reason: Selling mispriced insurance is a precarious business model. Aetna Inc. dealt the Affordable Care Act a severe setback by announcing Monday it would drastically reduce its participation in its insurance exchanges. Its reason: The company was attracting much sicker patients than expected. Indeed, all five of the largest national insurers say they are losing money on their ACA policies and three, including Aetna, are pulling back from the exchanges as a result. The problem isn’t technical or temporary; it’s intrinsic to how the law was written. (Ip, 8/17)
Los Angeles Times:
Pullback From Obamacare By Aetna, Other Insurers Puts Pressure On Upcoming Enrollments
Recent decisions by giant health insurers to pull back from Obamacare exchanges across the country could make this fall’s enrollment period crucial to the program that has helped millions of people gain health coverage. “We won’t know until the next open enrollment, are we still moving forward or are we stalled or moving backward?” said Gary Claxton, director of the nonprofit research group Health Care Marketplace Project at Kaiser Family Foundation. “If the market grows, then I think many insurers will find a way to be part of it. “The next couple of months are a moment of truth,” he said. (Petersen and Sisson, 8/17)
Politico:
Obamacare's CEO Talks Insurer Recruitment After Aetna's Pullback
Aetna's sudden decision to quit most of its Obamacare insurance markets was the latest mess in the health law's rockiest stretch in almost three years. It's Kevin Counihan's job to clean it up. Counihan, CEO of the federal insurance marketplace, told POLITICO's "Pulse Check" podcast that Aetna's flip-flop — the company announced Monday it will exit from 69 percent of counties it now serves through Obamacare, just three months after committing to stay and even expand — doesn't alter the administration's strategy. (Diamond, 8/18)
In other news, Hillary Clinton faces pressure from both parties in the aftermath of the Aetna decision —
The Wall Street Journal:
Clinton Pushed From Left And Right On Health Care
Aetna Inc.’s decision to scale back participation in the Affordable Care Act’s exchanges is putting new pressure on Hillary Clinton over health care, a onetime signature issue that has taken a back seat in her presidential campaign. The pressure is coming from the right but also the left. Liberals say the Aetna decision shows the need for a government-run option to compete with the private insurance companies, or even for a single-payer, Medicare-for-all program, as Sen. Bernie Sanders proposed again this week. (Meckler, 8/18)