New York – Aetna Inc, the No. 3 U.S. health insurer, said on Thursday it has decided not to sell insurance on New York’s individual health insurance exchange, part of the country’s healthcare reform.
Join our WhatsApp groupSubscribe to our Daily Roundup Email
New York is the fifth state where Aetna has pulled its application to sell the plans that go on sale on October 1 and into effect on January 1, 2014. It has also reversed course in Maryland, Ohio, Georgia, and Connecticut, where it is based.
Aetna spokesman Cynthia Michener said it made the move after assessing its business strategy, following the acquisition of smaller insurer Coventry Healthcare in May. Coventry also filed applications to sell plans in more than 10 states.
“Our goal for 2014 is to participate in a limited number of state exchanges where we can be competitive and add the most value to the market,” she said in an emailed statement.
She said the company will continue to serve small business and large business customers in New York and will offer individual products outside of the exchanges.
New York’s market for individuals is currently only about 17,000 people, but the exchange is expected to bring in 1 million people during the first three years. The exchange announced insurance participants on August 20. Aetna was not on the list.
I wonder why they aren’t on the exchange? Could it be too expensive to cover people? Shocker…
Obamacare at its finest
Too bad!!
See, if you want to keep your policy, you can.
Aetna has always concentrated on large employer group policies, not individual policies. Its cost structure is better suited to group policies and usually isn’t competitive for individuals.
Nobody, at least in NY, is competitive for individuals. Laws in NY governing what must be covered are simply too costly and have priced out individuals from the insurance market.
But is that not the purpose of Obamacare, to make sure individuals are not turned down when they are unemployed and do not have a GROUP? I know COBRA law is ignored also. That is where an employer is supposed to allow an employee or ex spouse to keep coverage for some time after they are terminated/ get divorced . But they easily weasel out of doing so and COBRA is very expensive anyway. So it was the expectation that now all individuals can indeed buy insurance while unemployed or not in a group. I am not getting this, since if they can opt out in 2014 when the law goes into effect, how is that different? Yes we know it is not a moneymaker which is why this law was needed. Health care is a necessity. This is the reason the law says that individuals should not be denied coverage. ARGH!