Aetna Letter to DOJ Threatened ACA Pull-Back

Aetna Inc. warned U.S. officials more than a month ago that it would pull out of Obamacare’s government-run health insurance markets if antitrust officials attempted to block its $37 billion merger with Humana Inc.

In a July 5 letter to the Justice Department from Chief Executive Officer Mark Bertolini, Aetna said that challenging the merger “would have a negative financial impact on Aetna and would impair Aetna’s ability to continue its support” of plans sold under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). Such a challenge would leave the insurer “with no choice but to take actions to steward its financial health.”

READ: In Reversal, Aetna Pulls Back From ACA

“If the DOJ sues to enjoin the transaction, we will immediately take action to reduce our 2017 exchange footprint,” Bertolini wrote. He said that the cost of litigation and debt taken on by Aetna, the need to plan for a breakup fee it would owe Humana, as well as cost savings already anticipated as a result of a successful deal, would all factor into Aetna’s need to pull back.

“By contrast, if the deal proceeds without the diverted time and energy associated with litigation, we would explore how to devote a portion of the additional synergies (which are larger than we had planned for when announcing the deal) to supporting even more public exchange coverage,” Bertolini said in the letter.