In this week’s edition of InnovationRx, we look at Aetna’s withdrawal from the ACA exchanges, the potential for digital health consolidation, high error rates from new AI models, a radioisotope deal and more. To get it in your inbox, subscribe here.

CVS chief executive David Joyner

Health insurer Aetna is leaving the Affordable Care Act’s individual marketplaces starting in 2026. The move marks the second time Aetna withdrew from the space: It previously pulled out in 2018 and came back in 2021.

Aetna’s departure will leave some 1 million members in 17 states searching for new health insurance for next year.

Though that’s a fraction of the more than 24 million Americans who signed up for coverage on the exchanges last fall, it is significant and comes at a time when the Trump Administration and Republicans are making it more difficult for health insurers to sell Obamacare.

CVS Health, which owns Aetna, made the announcement of its pullback during its first-quarter earnings call last Thursday. CEO David Joyner told investors on the call that the company was “disappointed by the continued underperformance” of Aetna’s exchange plans, and that Aetna had determined that there was no strategy for it to improve its position in the market. CVS expects to lose as much as $400 million this year on those plans.

The ACA marketplaces sell health insurance to people who are younger than age 65 and who don’t have coverage through an employer or with Medicaid. Former President Biden expanded subsidies to people who buy insurance on the Obamacare exchanges in order to make health coverage more affordable, but those subsidies are at risk of expiring at yearend under President Trump.

With Aetna’s withdrawal, a big question is

© Forbes