Iowa: Aetna follows Wellmark out the door, citing "uncertain outlook" for 2018

Not exactly a surprise: The stampede appears to be starting.

The efforts to replace the Affordable Care Act have caused worry for insurers, who aren’t sure about the law’s future or what would replace it. On Thursday, Aetna Inc. said it would pull out of Iowa’s Obamacare market, becoming the second major health plan to do so this week after Wellmark Inc. said it was quitting the state as well.

“Aetna will not participate in the Iowa individual public exchange for 2018 as a result of financial risk and an uncertain outlook for the marketplace,” spokesman T.J. Crawford said in an email Thursday. “We are still evaluating Aetna’s 2018 individual product presence in our remaining states.”

Aetna bailed on most states this year, but stuck around in a handful of them, including Iowa. This leaves Medica as the sole insurance carrier currently set to sell on the individual market next year a the moment.

On the one hand, this is exactly what Donald Trump has repeatedly stated he wanted to happen.

On the other hand, most of the country isn't buying it.