Aetna on Tuesday became the latest health insurance giant to deliver not so good news on Obamacare.
The company said it expects to lose more than $300 million this year around the 900,000 patients it covers underneath the Affordable Care Act – which would re-evaluate its 15-state coverage in the controversial health plan.
Aetna, the country's second largest insurer, said higher- -than-expected costs would also place the kibosh on intends to expand its Obamacare coverage into new states.
Last week, Anthem, which covers A million Obamacare patients, also reassessed its ACA future because of expected losses.
A third insurer, UnitedHealth, in April said it will exit the majority of the 34 states in which it presently offers plans.
The moves by Aetna and Anthem to re-evaluate their Obamacare futures come following the Justice Department sued to bar key mergers.
Both companies sought to grow larger to gain cost advantages to overcome expected losses.
Costs are rising faster than expected, the businesses said.
Each denied the announcement tied to their ACA futures had almost anything to use the move through the Justice Department to bar the mergers.
“Any decisions associated with our 2021 public exchange presence will be driven by fiscal responsibility,” an Aetna spokesperson told The Post.
“We've had very good conversations using the Administration about how to fix the Affordable Care Act,” Aetna Chief Executive Mark Bertolini told Bloomberg TV.
Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), in a pr release, said Aetna's exit from Obamacare would hurt his constituents.
“The results of [Aetna's] exit could be felt particularly hard in Arizona, where residents of Maricopa County could be playing just two medical health insurance options – down from eight plans offered in 2021. The crumbling of Obamacare only at that alarming rate is simply unsustainable.”
The Department of Health insurance and Human Services, which administers Obamacare, downplayed any risk.
“We have full confidence, backed by data, that the Medical health insurance Marketplace will continue to thrive for a long time ahead like a place where … consumers get access to a variety of affordable coverage options,” an HHS spokeswoman said inside a statement.
Aetna's announcement on Tuesday is really a change in its public stance.
In May, it said it planned to retain its presence the coming year in the same states that currently operates.
Ironically, the only insurer of the top four Obamacare firms that said recently it's pleased with the program is Centene Corp.
Centene, in March, got regulatory approval because of its $6 billion buyout of HealthNet.
Aetna, which is trying to merge with rival Humana, and Anthem, which is trying to buy rival Cigna, are fighting the Justice lawsuits.
There is precedent for successfully pressuring the DOJ.
In 2021 the DOJ sued to bar American Airlines and US Airways from merging.
Then, Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel together with 68 Democratic people in Congress signed a letter delivered to then-Attorney General Eric Holder urging funds.
The DOJ settled before trial for what many at that time considered a really light remedy.
