Trending News Today: Aetna May Ditch ACA Marketplaces

The US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) is penalizing more than half of hospitals serving Medicare beneficiaries due to high amounts of readmissions. The 2597 hospitals are being penalized $528 million, which increased by one-fifth from last year, according to Kaiser Health News. The $108 million increase from last year is because CMS has changed the way it measures readmissions.

Aetna Inc recently projected a loss from its participation in Affordable Care Act marketplaces in 2016, and is now considering dropping out of the marketplace altogether. They also have canceled their plan to expand their coverage to more states, The Wall Street Journal reported. An Aetna spokesperson said they will limit plan offerings in some states, remain unchanged in others, and even completely exit certain markets.

Anthem Inc is now asking a judge for a speedy trial in the lawsuit brought on by the US Department of Justice to block their merger with Cigna Corp. Anthem has also asked the judge to separate its case against the Anthem-Cigna merger from the Aetna-Humana merger. The insurer said that their merger is focused on commercial health insurance and the other merger is focused on Medicare Advantage, according to The New York Times.