Aetna silent on CVS bid reports

Health insurer Aetna failed to provide any hints on reported merger talks with CVS Health when discussing quarterly results on Tuesday and laid out obstacles to 2018 earnings growth, sending its shares lower.

The company reported a better-than-expected third-quarter profit despite a decline in revenue related to a scaling back of its Affordable Care Act individual insurance business, which Aetna expects to lose about $200 million on this year.

Aetna. the No. 3 U.S. health insurer, said it expects member medical spending to stay low this year, a trend that has benefited the health insurers and dragged down hospital revenues, and that the moderated spending would likely continue into 2018.

Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini started the call off by declining to comment on rumor or speculation, referring to last week's reports that pharmacy CVS Health offered to buy Aetna for more than $200 per share, or more than $66 billion.

CVS currently has a contract to manage much of Aetna's drug benefits. Bertolini said that the company would make a decision about the contract internally by the end of this year, and a public decision by mid-2018.

Aetna rival Anthem recently announced it would stop using drug benefit manager Express Scripts Holdings and manage more in house and through CVS.