Aetna CEO Threatened Obamacare Pullout If Feds Opposed Humana Merger

[workinclasszero]

Aetna CEO Threatened Obamacare Pullout If Feds Opposed Humana Merger
Give us our merger or we’ll quit Obamacare, the insurer told Justice Department officials in a July letter.
08/17/2016 01:49 am ET | Updated 3 hours ago
Jonathan Cohn Senior National Correspondent, The Huffington Post
Jeffrey Young Senior Reporter, The Huffington Post

The big health care news this week came from Aetna, which announced on Monday it was dramatically scaling back participation in the Affordable Care Act ― thereby reducing insurer competition and forcing customers scattered across 11 states to find different sources of coverage next year.

Aetna officials said the pullout was necessary because of Obamacare’s problems ― specifically, deep losses the insurer was incurring in the law’s health insurance exchanges.

But the move also was directly related to a Department of Justice decision to block the insurer’s potentially lucrative merger with Humana, according to a letter from Aetna’s CEO obtained by The Huffington Post.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/aetna-obamacare-pullout-humana-merger_us_57b3d747e4b04ff883996a13?

[tonyt53]

1. Their CEO need to get his stories straight. He, and their board, sure appear to be bullies.

[SheriffBob]

2. Humana is my provider

I am very satisfied with them.

I am glad they did not merge.

[sharp_stick]

3. It's not over yet

they're going in front of a judge later this year.

[still_one]

4. Fine, let them pullout. The fact is that any enterprise such as the ACA takes years to get off the

ground. Aetna right now is in limited ACA markets. If they pulled out, others would take up the slack

[kestrel91316]

5. Single. Payer. Now.

[workinclasszero]

6. Yes we tried to work with these mega insurance companies

And they screwed us.

Medicaid for all or single payer screw the insurance companies!