Aetna health insurance of Colorado to drop 1,000 businesses

OutHouse

Lifer
Jun 5, 2000
36,410
616
126
what do you guys think? did they pull out due to reasons like they stated or is it really due to health care reform?


http://www.9news.com/news/article.aspx?storyid=155701&catid=339

DENVER - If you're one of the thousands of Coloradans who works for a small business, you might be receiving a surprise in the mail this week regarding your health insurance.
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Health insurance provider AETNA has announced they will move several of their existing clients off the plan in the next year.

A spokesperson for AETNA told 9NEWS on Wednesday approximately one thousand companies will have their plan dropped, and right now they are not disclosing the amount of employees and dependents that will be affected.

The company says they will also stop selling new health insurance to businesses with fifty people or less.

AETNA said in a statement Wednesday that Colorado was one of several states where they were no longer competitive.

Anjie Coplin, a spokesperson with Aetna, released the following statement: "A number of factors contributed to our market withdrawals including low membership and the overall affordability of our small group plans in those states... If we can't offer affordable plans, then we need to rethink our position in the market."

9NEWS went to the Denver Metro Small Business Development Center for their response. They are a Chamber of Commerce Service that consults small businesses at no cost.

"I think all of these obstacles for small businesses, they are a challenge. But, part of being a business owner is learning how to overcome challenges. So I suspect that with this new challenge, they'll figure out a way to overcome it as well," Director Tameka Montgomery said.

Although this move comes at a time when businesses face major price hikes by health insurers, Montgomery says many small businesses she's talked to are uncertain how the new healthcare laws will effect them.

She says she suspects many of the companies affected by AETNA's decision will be able to purchase coverage from other insurers.

AETNA says they are offering employers at least one more renewal. They say they will be notifying all the customers they plan to drop by letter, starting this Friday.

They also say they are planning to stay in the individual and large-group markets in Colorado.
 
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Vette73

Lifer
Jul 5, 2000
21,503
9
0
Being that they have used the health care reform as reason to raise rates I am betting they can;t keep using the same ole horse and pony show.
 

JS80

Lifer
Oct 24, 2005
26,271
7
81
and we have Bush and the Republicans to keep thanking for it.

The gift that just keeps on taking.

Not to worry, I know when enough people are negatively affected Republicans and Corporations that support them will get what's coming to them.

lol you're seriously blaming Bush for this?

This is great news. Finally people will start to feel the effects of the healthcare legislation. They voted for Obama, and they need to be taught a lesson.
 

her209

No Lifer
Oct 11, 2000
56,336
11
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I don't get it. Where's the competition and low rates "if you just look" we kept hearing about during the debate?
 
Aug 23, 2000
15,509
1
81
and we have Bush and the Republicans to keep thanking for it.

The gift that just keeps on taking.

Not to worry, I know when enough people are negatively affected Republicans and Corporations that support them will get what's coming to them.

Wow. So Bush and the republicans voted in a 3,000 page Health Care destruction bill that no one read?

Shit I must have missed that in the pre 2009 time frame.

You prove the point that liberalism is a mental disease. You absolutely refuse to believe that the people you supported are incompitent and are absolute failures. Much as the followers of such morons.
 

classy

Lifer
Oct 12, 1999
15,219
1
81
Well the republicans are soley the blame for this. See now greedy companies can do stuff like this, but who got hurt, the people. The Public Option would have protected these very businesses and workers. Merry Christmas from the Republican Leadership.................
 

woolfe9999

Diamond Member
Mar 28, 2005
7,153
0
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Read the article closely. Aetna makes no mention of the Healthcare Law. It does say that it is not currently profitting in the Colorado market. It's pretty tough to connect that to a law which has barely even begun to have any effect.

Incidentally, Aetna is a massively profitable company on the whole. It is just scaling down in one particular state where it isn't doing well. If this was an issue with the Healthcare Law, this would be a national announcement from Aetna.

- wolf
 

SunnyD

Belgian Waffler
Jan 2, 2001
32,675
146
106
www.neftastic.com
AETNA said in a statement Wednesday that Colorado was one of several states where they were no longer competitive.

They were no longer competitive because their rates were terrible and their coverage was even worse. Been through 2 companies that carried Aetna for a brief period, and they were by far the worse insurance plans I have ever been on.
 

Ldir

Platinum Member
Jul 23, 2003
2,184
0
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They were no longer competitive because their rates were terrible and their coverage was even worse. Been through 2 companies that carried Aetna for a brief period, and they were by far the worse insurance plans I have ever been on.

Do not confuse the idiots with facts. It has to be Obama's fault.
 

bfdd

Lifer
Feb 3, 2007
13,312
1
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Read the article closely. Aetna makes no mention of the Healthcare Law. It does say that it is not currently profitting in the Colorado market. It's pretty tough to connect that to a law which has barely even begun to have any effect.

Incidentally, Aetna is a massively profitable company on the whole. It is just scaling down in one particular state where it isn't doing well. If this was an issue with the Healthcare Law, this would be a national announcement from Aetna.

- wolf

That's how I read it too.
 

PokerGuy

Lifer
Jul 2, 2005
13,650
201
101
<administration lies>
"You will be able to keep your plan if you want to. Your current plans will not be taken away".

</administration lies>

We need to make sure those responsible get the message in November. Anyone who was a part of this debacle passing should be booted.
 

Zedtom

Platinum Member
Nov 23, 2001
2,146
0
0
My friends in the health care business predict that a lot of insurance companies will be abandoning their coverage in certain areas because there is no profit to be made.

They've milked the system for so long that they see the light at the end of the tunnel.
 

swerus

Member
Sep 30, 2010
177
0
0
and we have Bush and the Republicans to keep thanking for it.

The gift that just keeps on taking.

Not to worry, I know when enough people are negatively affected Republicans and Corporations that support them will get what's coming to them.

 

Hayabusa Rider

Admin Emeritus & Elite Member
Jan 26, 2000
50,879
4,268
126
I believe this has little or nothing to do with healthcare reform...hence my original comment.

It may or may not but it didn't help. As wolfe says Aetna is doing well nationally, but if the projected costs of business is expected to increase in an already marginal market, it should come as no surprise that they will leave.
 

DesiPower

Lifer
Nov 22, 2008
15,299
740
126
You blame the President just coz he is black. Xenophobe bigots like you need to get your head out of you a$$. Hope and change does not come over night or over two years. Bush was there for 8 years....
 

shadow9d9

Diamond Member
Jul 6, 2004
8,132
2
0
This is what happens when you let businesses control peoples' access to health. Remember, Wellpoint's 2.5 billion dollars in profit a QUARTER was not enough profit for them.. they still needed to raise rates 25-39&#37;.

If we used profits from young people to help old people, it would be system neutral. instead, for profit companies make a fortune covering only the young and healthy, we pay taxes for the old and unhealthy, and we pay insane premiums for any access to healthcare. Greed and profit is America's way.

Enjoy people. You deserve it. Go back to the republicans. No privacy in the bedroom, xenophobia, hate for teh gay, more wars in the middle east, trillion in debt for tax cuts for the rich. Enjoy more unregulated drilling in our waters. Enjoy the 10% unemployment. It is just the beginning.