, Columnist
Obamacare's Public Option Is No Longer Defensible
Insurers selling plans on the exchanges aren't making much profit. So there's little to gain from a nonprofit alternative.
Beware of panaceas.
Photographer: ANTONIO SCORZA/AFP/Getty ImagesThis article is for subscribers only.
Since I last wrote about it, Aetna’s withdrawal from the Obamacare exchanges has ginned up even more drama.
Jeff Young and Jonathan Cohn of the Huffington Post published a letter in which Aetna told the Justice Department that it would reduce its exchange participation unless Justice allowed the merger with Humana to go through. This has naturally triggered a firestorm of accusations about “extortion”1471614091137 and renewed calls for a public option that can protect people against the threat of insurance-less insurance exchanges.