The nation's largest insurer, UnitedHealth Group, has lost a bid to begin selling coverage across California next year, according to a Los Angeles Times report.
The bid was rejected by California's Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act exchange Covered California, which recently adopted rules that outline where UnitedHealth Group could offer individuals its policies, according to the report.
UnitedHealth, which opted out of joining Covered California when it launched, did not comment on its future plans in the report.
However, Covered California Executive Director Peter Lee told the Los Angeles Times, "United or other plans that were in the market in 2012 should have a higher bar" to joining Covered California.
"We think the health plans that helped make California a national model should not be in essence undercut by plans that sat on the sidelines," he added.
UnitedHealth, which currently covers 3.1 million Californians, is prevented from selling statewide until 2017 at the very earliest, according to the report.
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