Aetna CEO: Americans should debate single-payer healthcare

Mark Bertolini, CEO of Aetna, said discussion about a single-payer healthcare system and how it would operate in the U.S. should be on the table, Reuters reports.

Mr. Bertolini made the remark during an investor conference Friday. He said Americans should talk about the type of single-payer system being debated by lawmakers like Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and discuss if it would be paid for by the government or owned and operated by the government.   

Mr. Bertolini said the ACA's attempt to place greater government control on healthcare has not gone well, according to the report. He added he thinks "government-run healthcare would be a bad idea."

Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna plans to exit ACA exchanges in Delaware and Nebraska in 2018, marking the insurer's full exit from the individual marketplace. The payer predicts it will lose $200 million on its 2017 ACA exchange business, following a $450 million loss on its individual health plans, both on and off the ACA exchanges, in 2016.   

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