United Reports $425M Loss on Exchanges

UnitedHealth Group has lost $425 million from health plans sold on the Affordable Care Act’s marketplaces, which forced the company to lower its profit projections for the rest of the year. The company suggested it may exit the exchanges altogether by 2017. It’s a potentially huge blow to President Barack Obama’s healthcare reform law, which has already suffered from the demise of half of its not-for-profit health insurance co-ops. The exchanges are the primary conduit to expand health coverage to middle-class Americans. If a major publicly traded insurer bows out, others may follow and destabilize the entire individual market.