New insurance policy: Abandon ACA exchanges to avoid losses

Aetna became the latest health insurer to cast doubt upon its future in the Affordable Care Act's insurance exchanges after it called off a planned expansion Tuesday and suggested it could abandon that market completely.

Competition by insurers is a key feature of the exchanges, designed to keep a lid on prices, but several insurers are abandoning them because they are losing enormous amounts of money.

Aetna said Thursday it has been swamped with higher than expected costs, particularly from pricey specialty drugs, and it will take a hard look at its current presence on exchanges in 15 states.

The exchanges have helped millions of people gain health coverage, many with assistance from income-based tax credits.

Bertolini told analysts Tuesday that a federal risk adjustment program designed to assist insurers that take on high-cost patients hasn't helped with this expense.

Consumers "will continue to have a robust set of choices" when they return to the exchanges to shop for 2017 coverage, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services spokeswoman Marjorie Connolly said in an email.