AET Aetna Inc. (delisted)

By Nathan Becker 

Aetna Inc. on Friday said its individual commercial business performed in line with its expectations through October, a day after UnitedHealth Group Inc. said it was considering exiting the Affordable Care Act's exchanges.

Aetna's statement could be a sign that big problems with business on government exchanges isn't widespread across insurers. On Thursday, UnitedHealth, the biggest health insurer in the U.S., said it has suffered deep losses on its exchange-related business.

That announcement stoked worries about the future of the health marketplaces that are at the center of the Obama administration's health law.

Aetna also backed its profit outlook for the year on Friday, a day after UnitedHealth cut its view.

Still, Aetna's exchange-related business isn't without troubles--the company said on an earnings call earlier this month that individual business within its public-exchange and consumer efforts remained challenging. It plans to participate on individual exchanges in 15 states next year, down from 17 states in 2015.

Chief Executive Mark Bertolini at the time said the 15 states made up "a footprint that we continue to believe can drive net membership growth."

In comparison, UnitedHealth operated on individual exchanges in 23 states this year. The company has locked in its exchange offerings for 2016, but it is pulling back on marketing them during the current open-enrollment period to limit membership.

Write to Nathan Becker at nathan.becker@wsj.com

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(END) Dow Jones Newswires

November 20, 2015 08:35 ET (13:35 GMT)

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