Aetna's negotiation tactics are being used by other payers to pressure the U.S. Department of Justice and its legal challenges of insurer mega-mergers, the Corporate Counsel reports.
In a July 5 letter, Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna warned the DOJ it would immediately take action to reduce its 2017 Affordable Care Act exchange footprint if the DOJ sued to block its acquisition of Louisville, Ky.-based Humana. The DOJ filed a lawsuit July 21, and in mid-August Aetna pulled back its exchange footprint in over 500 counties.
Other insurers facing lawsuits — like Humana and Indianapolis-based Anthem — are likewise using hardball tactics in response to their challenged transactions. In a response to the lawsuit last week, Humana, citing losses, said it "is now necessarily independently considering various options to mitigate these losses, including cutting back or discontinuing altogether its public exchange products," according to the report.
In addition, Anthem said it may reconsider its public exchange commitment. As a court document reads, "the absence of the acquisition, Anthem has no plans to grow its business on the public exchange outside its 14 service areas, and will have to reassess its participation in the public exchange in each rating area in which it is currently operating."
The Aetna-Humana trial date is set for Dec. 5, and an Anthem-Cigna trial date is set for Nov. 21.
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