We now have more news on the Aetna withdrawal from the ACA, as a federal judge has made a ruling. BuzzFeed has the report:
America’s second-largest health insurance company stopped offering coverage to hundreds of thousands of people as part of a legal strategy to avoid government scrutiny of a planned merger, a federal judge said in a ruling today.
Aetna withdrew from health insurance exchanges in 17 counties in Florida, Georgia, and Missouri after the Department of Justice said competition in those markets would be harmed by the company’s $37 billion planned merger with rival Humana. The withdrawal was part of a wider move that saw Aetna pull coverage from almost 550 counties in 11 states.
The health insurance giant said it exited the exchanges purely for business reasons, having lost a total of $420 million due to plans sold through the marketplaces. But in a ruling blocking its merger with Humana today, DC District Court judge John Bates said it was also done as a legal maneuver. …
“Aetna was willing to offer to expand its participation in the exchanges if DOJ did not block the merger, or conversely, was willing to threaten to limit its participation in the exchanges if DOJ did,” Judge Bates said Monday.
I suppose the execs just think they’re playing hardball, but I wonder if perjury charges could appear. It’s almost as if the execs are just daring the justice system to discover the truth, with no penalties to them either way.
