Nearly 1 million Americans face losing health insurance as Aetna exits ACA marketplace
Ron Williams, former AETNA Chairman and CEO, testifies before a Senate Finance Committee hearing on uninsured Americans on Capitol Hill in Washington in 2008. File photo UPI/Patrick D. McDermott | License Photo
May 4 (UPI) — Nearly a million people in 17 states face losing healthcare coverage after Aetna’s parent company announced it would leave the federal insurance marketplace, created under the Affordable Care Act during the Obama administration.
Aetna, along with various other healthcare and insurance companies, is owned and operated by the pharmacy giant CVS, which announced Aetna’s withdrawal from the ACA, despite surpassing financial expectations.
ACA tax credits and other financial incentives, implemented by the Biden administration in 2021, are scheduled to expire next year leading to higher premium costs for people who enroll through the federal healthcare marketplace.
The end of the credits is partly what led to CVS’s decision to remove Aetna as an option through the ACA. The credits led to record enrollment in ACA programs this year to nearly 24 million people, Forbes reported.
CVS said Aetna is not a major player in the ACA marketplace compared with other health insurance plans, and added that it will still offer other options.
“The company is best able to serve members through its other health benefit solutions, which offer access to quality care, affordable health benefits and exceptional service,” CVS said in a statement.
“The company will continue delivering superior service and support to its individual exchange members through 2025 and residual activities in 2026,” it continued.
This is not the first time Aetna has been removed from the marketplace; it was unavailable in 2017 and 2018, but returned in 2021.
