A federal choose has dominated that Aetna was unfair when the well being insurer stated final summer season that its choice to withdraw from most Obamacare exchanges was strictly a enterprise choice pushed by mounting losses.

U.S. District Decide John Bates concluded this week that Aetna's actual motivation for dropping Obamacare protection in a number of states was “particularly to keep away from judicial oversight” over its merger with Humana.

Aetna withdrew from the Obamacare exchanges final August in 11 states, together with 17 counties in Florida, Georgia and Missouri, the place the Justice Division claimed the merger would wipe out competitors.

That call to withdraw from Obamacare got here only a month after the Justice Division blocked Aetna's $34 billion merger with Humana on antitrust grounds.

However Bates stated this week that the DOJ offered “compelling assist” — together with inner Aetna emails — for the conclusion that Etna (AET) withdrew from the Obamacare exchanges in these counties “to enhance his litigation place.”

“The Courtroom doesn’t respect the minimal efforts of Aetna executives to argue in any other case,” Bates wrote in a ruling following a lawsuit over the merger.

He added that Aetna's choice about collaborating within the exchanges in these counties in 2017 was “in reality manipulated.”

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Aetna had warned the federal government that it may need to dump then-President Obama's well being care regulation if the U.S. broke its take care of the U.S. Human (GRUM).

“It’s extremely possible that we must exit the general public alternate enterprise utterly… ought to our deal finally be blocked,” Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini wrote in a letter to the DOJ final July that was obtained by the Huffington Submit.

Nonetheless, Bates stated it’s clear that “Aetna sought to leverage its participation within the alternate for favorable therapy” from regulators.

The choose stated there may be “compelling proof” that when Aetna later withdrew from the 17 counties in query, “it didn’t achieve this for enterprise causes however as a substitute adopted via on the menace it had beforehand made.”

That criticism was buried in a 158-page ruling from Bates on Monday, blocking Aetna's merger with Humana over anticompetitive considerations.

The ruling is a serious blow to each corporations at a time of nice uncertainty in well being care as President Donald Trump has talked about rolling again a number of key provisions of Obamacare.

Aetna-Humana shouldn’t be the one main healthcare merger that’s unsure. The DOJ has additionally filed a lawsuit to dam the acquisition of Cigna (CI) by Blue Cross Blue Protect Chief Hymn (ANTX) for anti-competitive causes.

Aetna declined to touch upon the main points of the advisory, together with Bates' criticism, saying the corporate remains to be “reviewing the main points.”

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Final summer season, Aetna defined its choice to withdraw from most Obamacare exchanges, saying its particular person coverage enterprise had misplaced $430 million for the reason that exchanges opened in January 2014.

Nonetheless, the choose famous that Aetna retained its assist for exchanges in money-losing states like Delaware, Iowa and Virginia, however dumped Florida though that main state was anticipated to be worthwhile in 2016.

The ruling cited an electronic mail from Christopher Ciano, president of Aetna's Florida market, to Jonathan Mayhew, head of Aetna's alternate enterprise, that confirmed how baffled he was by the choice to go away Florida.

“I simply don't perceive the choice in Florida. I by no means thought we’d pull the plug,” Ciano wrote, including that Aetna “made cash from the inventory market.”

Mayhew responded by requesting to seek the advice of by cellphone “relatively than by electronic mail.”

Bates stated the senior Aetna govt's response was an instance of Aetna's “repeated makes an attempt to cover a paper path on this decision-making.”

–CNNMoney's Tami Luhby contributed to this report

CNNMoney (New York) First revealed January 24, 2017: 12:36 PM ET