MADISON – Just two months after UnitedHealth decided it would stop participating in the ObamaCare exchanges due to hundreds of millions lost in the process, Aetna plans to follow their lead. In a press release on Monday, Aetna announced it will reduce the number of states it will offer ObamaCare products in from 15 to four in 2017. The company noted skyrocketing costs and more than $430 million in losses over the past two years as the primary reason for its departure.
Russ Feingold, a leading surrogate for ObamaCare in 2010 and the deciding vote to pass it in the Senate, has yet to acknowledge the law’s impact on the lives of healthcare consumers. As more major national insurance providers leave the state exchanges, they will be left with increasing costs and fewer options. According to a New York Times report in May 2016, some states will see cost increases as high as ten percent in November – an increase that will certainly be felt by families barely making ends meet as it is.
Wisconsin Alliance for Reform Communications Director Chris Martin released the following statement:
“Once again, healthcare consumers across the country will be forced to find alternative care as another major insurance company comes to the grim realization that President Obama’s failed law is simply unsustainable. It’s truly shocking that Russ Feingold continues to stand by his deciding vote to pass ObamaCare and feigns ignorance to the fact that it has been an unmitigated disaster since day one.”
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