"Bates found that this rationalization was largely untrue. In fact, he noted, Aetna pulled out of some states and counties that were actually profitable to make

"Bates found that this rationalization was largely untrue. In fact, he noted, Aetna pulled out of some states and counties that were actually profitable to make a point in its lawsuit defense — and then misled the public about its motivations." It could be the case, but it seems that, in at least some of the markets, it was not. They were pulling out to try to invalidate the DOJs finding that the merger would produce insufficient competition.