Aetna Not Withdrawing From Any Health-Law Insurance-Exchange States

Aetna Inc. expects to continue selling Affordable Care Act exchange plans in 15 states, and the insurer said it may expand into new areas.

The announcement adds to the mixed picture that the industry has been providing about companies’ willingness to stick it out on the exchanges, which have generated red ink for many insurers.

Insurers’ moves on the exchanges are being closely watched after UnitedHealth Group Inc. said last month that it would withdraw from all but a handful of the 34 states where it is offering the marketplace plans, amid continued losses. Humana Inc., which is also expecting losses this year on its exchange business, has said it would likely withdrawfrom some exchanges.

But other big insurers have struck a guardedly optimistic tone. Anthem Inc. expects to make a narrow profit on ACA marketplace plans this year, though short of its target margins, and Aetna itself earlier said it continues to expect to break even on the exchanges in 2016.

Aetna Chief Executive Mark T. Bertolini told analysts during the company’s first-quarter earnings call that Aetna still saw its position in the ACA marketplaces as a “good investment.” But he also made pointed comments about the need for changes to the law to ensure a sustainable business. Aetna is currently seeking to acquire Humana, a deal that is under review by Justice Department antitrust regulators.

Some Medicaid-focused insurers, such as Centene Corp., have been profitable on the exchanges, and analysts think they could expand their presence. Cigna Corp. has said it plans to expand to a few more states from the seven where it currently sells exchange plans.

However, many insurers that are sticking with the exchanges are expected to seek significant rate increases for next year as they try to boost lagging results.

Aetna spokesman T.J. Crawford said the company has submitted proposed rates to regulators in all of its existing exchange states for plans to be offered next year. The insurer has “no plans at this point to withdraw from any of those states,” he said. In making its regulatory filings, he said, the insurer has also “preserved our options to enter certain new geographies pending careful evaluation of marketplace conditions.”

At least one state regulator, in Oklahoma, said it already had been informed that Aetna planned to begin selling exchange plans there in 2017.

However, Aetna emphasized that its exchange footprint wouldn’t be finalized until September, when insurers sign binding agreements to offer plans. Mr. Crawford said the company has “not made any final decisions on where we might enter new Affordable Care Act states.”

Aetna said on its first-quarter earnings call that enrollment in its individual plans grew more than it expected, to about 1.2 million, an increase of about 200,000 from the end of last year. The company said 911,000 of those people signed up through the ACA marketplaces.

Aetna had previously said it aimed to break even on ACA plans this year, while targeting profits in future years. The company said during the first-quarter call that it thought it was on a path to achieve its 2016 goal, but warned that it had “low visibility” at this point in the year.