Aetna will become the latest health insurer to chop participation in the Affordable Care Act’s public exchanges when it trims its presence to four states for 2017, from 15 this year.
The cuts, announced late Monday, come after UnitedHealth and Humana announced their own exchange pull backs for 2017 and after several nonprofit insurance co-ops have shut down.
Dwindling exchange participation from insurers is becoming a concern, especially in some rural markets, because competition is supposed to help control insurance price increases, and many carriers have already announced plans to seek price hikes of around 10 percent or more for 2017. Some states like Alaska and Oklahoma will be left with only one participant selling individual coverage in 2017.
But government officials say the exchanges are improving and healthier people are signing up, which helps insurers balance the claims they get from sicker customers.
“Aetna’s decision to alter its Marketplace participation does not change the fundamental fact that the Health Insurance Marketplace will continue to bring quality coverage to millions of Americans next year and every year after that,” said Kevin Counihan, CEO of the federal exchange operator HealthCare.gov, in an emailed statement.