“Aetna will not participate in the Iowa individual public exchange for 2018 as a result of financial risk and an uncertain outlook for the marketplace,” Aetna Spokesman T.J. Crawford said in an email to Bloomberg. “We are still evaluating Aetna’s 2018 individual product presence in our remaining states.”
Following news Monday of Wellmark’s decision to drop out of Iowa’s exchange, Aetna’s exit means 94 out of 99 counties in Iowa will have just one insurer selling individual plans on the Healthcare.gov exchange when open enrollment begins in November. Aetna expects the policy change to affect approximately 30,000 residents.
Wellmark also cited financial and legislative uncertainty in its departure.
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