Five senators are resuming their pressure on insurer Aetna to answer whether it left Obamacare in retaliation for a federal move to block its merger with Humana.
Senators led by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., wrote on Friday that Aetna’s answers to their initial query on Sept. 8 were insufficient.
Aetna announced in August that it is pulling out of more than 70 percent of its Obamacare markets next year. The move was announced after the Department of Justice sued in July to block the merger with rival Humana due to concerns about competition.
Aetna said last month that it was pulling out due to financial losses in Obamacare, but the senators, which also included Democratic Sens. Sherrod Brown of Ohio, Ed Markey of Massachusetts and Bill Nelson of Florida, were skeptical.
The original letter on Sept. 8 asked the insurer how much it would cost Aetna if the merger is blocked and why the insurer said in April that it had a “very good cost structure” for states where it saw growth in Obamacare exchanges.
The senators also refer to a July 5 letter from Aetna to the Justice Department, which had asked Aetna how a lawsuit against the merger would affect its participation in Obamacare. “Should the deal be blocked, the challenges will be exacerbated as we are facing significant unrecoverable costs,” Aetna said.
The senators said that Aetna didn’t answer any of the questions and instead said that it dropped out of the exchanges “based on … marketplace reality.” Aetna also called accusations that it dropped out due to the merger “unfounded.”
Aetna isn’t the only insurer to leave Obamacare due to financial problems. UnitedHealth previously announced it will exit a majority of Obamacare exchanges in the 34 states it offers plans.
Humana also has said it will leave four states.
Aetna did not immediately return a request for comment.
