Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini has a message for Washington, as the uncertainty over health care reform continues.
Bertolini discussed the Hartford-based health insurer’s big rise in second quarter profits on CNBC, and he was asked about the health care reform effort.
“The bottom line is that the Senate cannot repeal Obamacare -- all they can do is fix it,” he said. “I think once we get to a solution where we say we want to fix it, then we get bipartisan support.”
After the collapse of the Senate’s various efforts to repeal or replace the law, President Donald Trump threatened to remove cost-sharing subsidies for customers on the exchanges, calling them bailouts for the insurance industry.
“The only people who get hurt are the members and the citizens of the United States who won’t get health care as a result,” said Bertolini. “So, these aren’t bailouts for the insurance company. We don’t keep that money -- it goes directly to providers. It goes directly to pay for premiums for members, so I think it’s misinformed.”
Bertolini pledged that if the Affordable Care Act is stabilized, Aetna will return to participate in the exchanges.