Sanders revs up public option fight after Aetna leaves ObamaCare
Aetna threatened federal government with withdrawal from Affordable Care Act if controversial merger didn't go through, new reporting reveals.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and other healthcare reform advocates are revving up their push for a “public option” after Aetna’s retreat from the ObamaCare marketplace this week.
Sanders on Tuesday vowed to bring back the debate on a government-run insurance option one day after the nation’s third-largest insurer announced a major pullback from the exchanges.
The senator said he would reintroduce his legislation to create a “Medicare-for-all” system in the next session of the Senate, “hopefully” after Democrats regain control of the chamber in the November elections.
“In my view, the provision of health care cannot continue to be dependent upon the whims and market projections of large private insurance companies whose only goal is to make as much profit as possible,” Sanders said in astatement on Tuesday.
“That is why we need to join every other major country on earth and guarantee health care to all as a right, not a privilege,” he said.
Aetna announced late Monday that it would pull out of ObamaCare exchanges in 11 states, including Arizona, Florida and Texas. The company’s CEO, Mark Bertolini, cited $200 million in losses over the past few months as a major reason for the move.
The insurer’s high-profile departure is a major blow to the healthcare law. Still, longtime public-option proponents believe they have a new opportunity to take aim at the healthcare law's heavy reliance on insurers for coverage.