Last week, Aetna – one of the nation’s largest health insurers – unexpectedly announced that it would reevaluate its participation in the Affordable Care Act health care exchanges. Aetna has always had concerns about Obamacare, but as recently as April, the company said its ACA business was "a good investment." In May, Aetna announced plans to expand to more states. Last week, Aetna reported second-quarter earnings that beat expectations.
So what changed? In July, the Justice Department announced that it would sue to block Aetna’s merger with another health insurance company because it would create monopoly-like conditions that reduce competition and drive up insurance costs. Aetna says this change of tone about the Affordable Care Act has nothing to do with the merger – but some analysts have suggested that Aetna might "use its future participation in the exchanges in bargaining over its purchase of Humana."
Aetna may not like the Justice Department’s decision to challenge its merger, and it has every right to fight that decision in court. But violating antitrust law is a legal question, not a political one. The health of the American people should not be used as bargaining chips to force the government to bend to one giant company’s will.
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