Aetna/CVS medicare advantage ready to jetison 10% of its members.
How will that impact Illinois retired teacher health benefits?
Retired public school teachers like me receive their healthcare benefits through an arrangement with the private CVS/Aetna Medicare Advantage plan.
Now we are learning that CVS/Aetna is planning to jetison 10% of those who depend on the MA plan.
CVS Health executives are bracing to lose up to 10% of Aetna's Medicare Advantage members next year, Bloomberg reported May 14.
At an investor conference on May 14, CVS CFO Tom Cowhey said it's "entirely possible" the company loses a portion of its members in the coming year as it prioritizes profitability, according to Bloomberg.
"That's OK because we need to get this business back on track," Mr. Cowhey said.
Executives at CVS Health have said they will be focusing on"margins over membership" in Medicare Advantage in the coming year.
That is a metaphor for the entire privatized healthcare/industrial complex.
Aetna will exit counties where it believes it can't be profitable in 2025, Brian Kane, executive vice president of CVS Health and president of Aetna, told investors on a conference call.
Aetna, CVS Health's insurance unit, had 4.2 million Medicare Advantage members as of March 31. The company has added 818,000 new MA members since the first quarter of 2023, and led the industry in growth in 2024.
In addition to reducing patient numbers Cowhey told investors that Aetna may reduce supplemental benefits such as fitness memberships, over-the-counter allowances and transportation assistance for its 2025 offerings