Health insurer Aetna has filed rates for ObamaCare policies in Nevada next year after previously indicating it would be leaving the marketplace.
Aetna has agreed to participate in the state’s exchange in order to better the company’s chances of winning a contract to offer Medicaid policies there, CNN Money reported Tuesday.
In August, Aetna announced that it would significantly scale back its participation in the ObamaCare markets to just four states, down from 15 the year before. In a statement Tuesday, Aetna wouldn’t commit fully to offering plans next year.
“We’ve filed rates based on a contractual obligation with the state, but no final decision on our participation has been made,” the company said in an email statement.
Nevada is one of 11 states that uses a state exchange instead of the federal marketplace through healthcare.gov.
“As a strong supporter of public exchanges as a means to meet the needs of the uninsured, we regret having to make this decision,” Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini said in August.
The company cited a loss of $200 million in the second quarter as its reason for leaving the state marketplaces.
Insurers abandoning state marketplaces have been a major problem for the health of the Affordable Care Act’s state exchanges. In May, the only insurer for most of Iowa’s counties announced it may pull out of the state’s exchange.
Republicans have cited health insurance companies vacating the marketplaces as proof that the Affordable Care Act should be repealed.
“ObamaCare is imploding, and we’re just seeing prices skyrocket and insurers flee the market,” House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Kevin Brady (R-Texas) said in June on Fox News.
This story has been corrected to show that Aetna has not made a final decision on participating in Nevada’s health exchanges.
