UnitedHealth Group, the largest health insurer in the U.S., is exiting California’s Obamacare marketplace in 2017, state officials said Tuesday.
The company expanded its coverage to California this year and enrolled roughly 1,200 consumers in the state, according to CaliforniaHealthLine.org.
UnitedHealth announced last month that it was pulling out of 26 of the 34 exchanges it previously offered coverage, projecting it would lose $650 million this year.
Its departure from California will impact individual policies outside of the state exchange as well, though the number of policyholders is unclear.
The group will continue to offer coverage to California employers and public employees through the state’s retirement system.
UnitedHealth CEO Stephen Hemsley said in April that the company couldn’t afford to continue offering coverage under Obamacare’s health care exchanges. He predicted that the company would lose a total of more than $1 billion during 2015 and 2016.
"The smaller overall market size and shorter term, higher-risk profile within this market segment continue to suggest we cannot broadly serve it on an effective and sustained basis," Hemsley told reporters last month.
The insurer will continue to provide coverage on the individual exchanges in New York, Nevada, and Virginia.