Aetna will exit Obamacare markets in Virginia in 2018, citing expected losses

CNBC ^ | 05-03-2017 | Dan Mangan

[NRx]

Giant insurer Aetna said Wednesday it will not sell Obamacare plans in Virginia next year, citing expected financial losses on such plans in 2017.

Aetna left open the question of whether it will sell such individual health plans anywhere in the United States.

Aetna's decision to exit Virginia in 2018 comes several weeks after it said it would drop out of Iowa's individual market next year.

The company was selling Obamacare plans in just two other states this year: Delaware and Nebraska.

"Despite significantly reducing our exchange footprint, our individual commercial products could potentially lose more than $200 million in 2017," said Aetna spokesman T.J. Crawford.

"Based on that financial risk, and growing uncertainty in the marketplace, we will not offer on- or off-exchange individual plans in Virginia for 2018. We will communicate decisions on our remaining states as appropriate."

An email from Crawford contains a graphic image depicting Aetna's approximate pre-tax losses on Obamacare plans since they began being sold in 2014. They go from about $100 million that year, up to $130 million in 2015, and about $450 million last year.

[oldbrowser]

What next shall we require life insurance companies to insure people that are already dead?

[McGavin999]

Aren’t these insurance companies the ones who helped write this law?

[Jim W N]

The Constitution designed the federal government to run military campaigns. The Constitution did NOT design nor authorize the feds to run a free industrial operation like healthcare or any other free enterprise.

Is there any record of Obama ever holding a job in his life? Obama, who hates free enterprise and doesn’t understand it? And yet he’s responsible for this federal takeover of the healthcare insurance industry?

Stupid just seems to be getting stupider all the time.

NUKE UNCONSTITUTIONAL OBAMACARE AND GET THE FEDS OUT OF HEALTHCARE.

[jurroppi1]

Good, the pricks! They are the worst insurance company bar none - they deserve everything they get from colluding with the obammy admin.

[SeeSharp]

They always knew this would happen but they thought the government would simply reimburse them. Insurance is closely related to banking. They get to keep your premiums until claims are paid, and in the meantime they invest that money and earn a profit. As long as their insurance loses do not add up to more than the going rate of interest the insurance game has paid off for them.

But as Ayn Rand warned, anyone foolish enough to go into partnership with the government will quickly discover that it is they who are to be the junior partner in that relationship.

[CommieCutter]

I could be wrong but I thought AETNA wasn’t a big fan of Obamacare unlike all the other little fascist insurers.

[McGavin999]

I don’t remember. All I remember thinking was insurance companies were incredibly greedy and stupid to sign onto Obamacare

[Vendome]

Chairman and CEO Mark Bertolini received a total compensation of $10.6 million in 2011 and $13.2 million in 2012 despite a cut of bonuses from $2 million to $892,000 for failing to meet financial performance goals.[5][not in citation given] In 2013, Bertolini received $30.7 million in compensation.[6]

Bertolini in April 2016 described Aetna's participation in ACA individual exchanges as "a good investment" despite initial losses, emphasizing the long-term possibilities. By July 5, 2016 he wrote to the DOJ that Aetna would, instead of expanding into 20 states, reduce its participation from 15 to ten states if its merger with Humana were challenged by the DOJ. After that challenge occurred, Aetna reduced its participation in ObamaCare individual exchanges to four states, citing its inability to sustain the losses it incurred in those markets.

Among the states Aetna abandoned was Pennsylvania where it ran a profit in 2014 and 2015 and projected a record profit for 2017.

[unixfox]

So...you didn’t think getting in bed with the devil would get you burned?

They deserve it.

[houeto]

Is there any record of Obama ever holding a job in his life?

I read where he worked at Baskin Robbins until he got fired for giving ice cream away to his friends,

[Jim W N]

“Cost of Goods Sold”? “Profit Margin”? Whassat?

Dunno. Doncare. Fugeddabouddit. “Think I’ll go to law school where I can learn to make everybody poor except me and my socialist government buddies.”

[mdmathis6]

“I read where he worked at Baskin Robbins until he got fired for giving ice cream away to his friends, “

Yup...figures....once a socialist...always a socialist!

[Admin Moderator]

What an idiot I was.

You got that part right.

[Diana in Wisconsin]

I love the smell of ozone! Do it again! Do it again! :)

[MadMax, the Grinning Reaper]

This is going to badly hurt the leftist McAuliffe/Warner/Northam/Pierrello Demogogues, er, Democrats in the 2018 elections.

Boy do I hope it hurts them like putting ones nuts in a vise and turning it till it won’t turn any more.

[RipSawyer]

“What next shall we require life insurance companies to insure people that are already dead?”

Why not, if they are already dead then the thing they are being insured against is no longer a risk right? They can’t die twice.
I’m not sure whether this requires sarcasm tags or an insanity warning.