Rep. Smith Statement on Aetna Leaving Nebraska Exchange

WASHINGTON, May 10 -- Rep. Adrian Smith, R-Neb., issued the following news release:

Congressman Adrian Smith (R-NE) released the following statement today following Aetna's announcement it will leave the Nebraska insurance exchange in 2018.

"Nebraskans will now only have one insurer on the exchange, forcing them into a monopoly situation," Smith said. "When consumers do not have choices, costs go up and quality suffers. The brokenness of Obamacare continues to become more and more evident, while Nebraskans shoulder the consequences.

"This is why we took action in the House last week to move forward with repealing and replacing Obamacare. We cannot sit by and allow our country's health insurance marketplace to collapse under this unsustainable law."

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Nebraska and UnitedHealthcare left the exchange in 2016.

Smith is a member of the Ways and Means Committee and its Subcommittee on Health.