Aetna Says Individual Commercial Business on Track
November 20 2015 - 8:00AM
Dow Jones News
Aetna Inc. on Friday said its individual commercial business
performed in line with its expectations through October, a day
after UnitedHealth Group Inc. said it was considering exiting the
Affordable Care Act's exchanges.
Aetna's statement could be a sign that big problems with
business on government exchanges isn't widespread across insurers.
On Thursday, UnitedHealth, the biggest health insurer in the U.S.,
said it has suffered deep losses on its exchange-related
business.
That announcement stoked worries about the future of the health
marketplaces that are at the center of the Obama administration's
health law.
Aetna also backed its profit outlook for the year on Friday, a
day after UnitedHealth cut its view.
Still, Aetna's exchange-related business isn't without
troubles—the company said on an earnings call earlier this month
that individual business within its public-exchange and consumer
efforts remained challenging. It plans to participate on individual
exchanges in 15 states next year, down from 17 states in 2015.
Chief Executive Mark Bertolini at the time said the 15 states
made up "a footprint that we continue to believe can drive net
membership growth."
In comparison, UnitedHealth operated on individual exchanges in
23 states this year. The company has locked in its exchange
offerings for 2016, but it is pulling back on marketing them during
the current open-enrollment period to limit membership.
Write to Nathan Becker at nathan.becker@wsj.com
Subscribe to WSJ: http://online.wsj.com?mod=djnwires
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
November 20, 2015 08:45 ET (13:45 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2015 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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