Earlier this week, Aetna became the latest payer to exit several Affordable Care Act state exchanges, but the news may not be all that shocking in light of a letter Aetna's CEO wrote to federal officials, according to Huffington Post.
Here are five things to know:
1. This year, Aetna offered plans in 15 states. The company's latest decision to exit 11 exchanges will leave customers in North Carolina, Pennsylvania and Florida to seek coverage elsewhere.
2. When news broke about Aetna leaving the exchanges, company officials said the DOJ's lawsuit against the deal played no part in their decision to withdraw from 11 exchanges.
3. The Huffington Post got access to a letter in which Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini told federal officials in July that the company would exit the ACA exchanges if officials made moves to block the million-dollar deal. Mr. Bertolini wrote the letter 16 days before the DOJ filed suits against the Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna mergers.
4. In the letter, Mr. Bertolini writes, "[I]f the deal were challenged and/or blocked we would need to take immediate actions to mitigate public exchange and ACA small group losses. Specifically, if the DOJ sues to enjoin the transaction, we will immediately take action to reduce our 2017 exchange footprint…"
5. An Aetna spokesperson drafted an email to The Huffington Post on Aug. 16, saying the company's second quarter losses triggered their move to leave the ACA exchanges. Aetna said it anticipated losses totaling $300 million on these state exchanges earlier this year.
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