Aetna to remain in all current exchanges in 2017, teases expansion

Aetna won’t join insurers like UnitedHealth and Humana in leaving the Affordable Care Act’s health insurance marketplaces—and may expand into new states, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The company currently offers plans on 15 ACA state exchanges, and Aetna spokesman T.J. Crawford told the WSJ it has submitted rate proposals for 2017 with “no plans at this point to withdraw from any of those states.”

Crawford went on to say Aetna’s filings with regulators “preserved our options to enter certain new geographies pending careful evaluation of marketplace conditions.” While the WSJ quoted an Oklahoma regulator who claims he had been informed Aetna would begin selling exchange plans there in 2017, Crawford said the company hasn’t made any final decisions on expansion and won’t do so until September.

The announcement followed positive statements about the marketplaces by Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini, who in April called the exchanges a “good investment” based on how much it would’ve cost the company to find the same number of new customers without the Affordable Care Act. In its first quarter earnings report, Aetna said its signed up more than 900,000 people for individual coverage through the marketplaces.

Aetna’s exchange expansion plans remain separate from Humana while their merger awaits approval from regulators, as Aetna will still offer plans in Virginia, one of the four states Humana is exiting in 2017.