Podcast: Aetna Letter Sparks Controversy

Summary: After announcing an exit from the majority of the healthcare exchanges in which it currently operates, Aetna is receiving criticism over a letter it had previously sent to the Department of Justice (DOJ). In it, Aetna’s CEO stated that if the merger between his organization and Humana was blocked, the company would have to leave the exchange business. Aetna claims to have left due to financial concerns and profitability issues with the program setup, but some wonder if the letter was meant as a veiled threat. Experts point out that if the latter is true, the attempt was misguided – the DOJ typically does not consider political pressures when examining anti-trust cases and is attempting to block the merger regardless of the letter’s intent.

Hear the full podcast from Marketplace here.

Fearing Zika, FDA Asks Two Florida Counties to Halt Blood Donations

After travel and sexual transmissions were ruled out for four Zika cases in Florida counties of Miami-Dade and Broward, fears of infected mosquitos in the United States are mounting. Because the virus does not present symptoms in many cases, it is possible that more people are infected – and may have donated blood after being bitten. The FDA has issued a warning that blood collections in the counties should not resume until they are able to properly test the blood and screen donors; they also recommend that neighboring and other at-risk counties consider taking the same actions.

Read NPR's article on it here.