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Aetna Inc. on Tuesday became the second major insurer to leave the health insurance industry’s largest trade group, a setback to the membership organization that was a major force during the crafting of the Affordable Care Act. Aetna, the third-largest U.S. health insurer, said it wouldn’t renew its membership for 2016 with America’s Health Insurance Plans, a national association with almost 1,300 companies. (Armour, 1/5)

Another top-five health insurance company is ditching the industry lobbying group as a new CEO attempts to right the ship. Aetna, which is in the process of buying competitor Humana, is not renewing its membership in America's Health Insurance Plans for 2016, a spokeswoman for the Hartford, Conn.-based health insurer confirmed Tuesday. This comes several months after UnitedHealth Group, the nation's largest insurer, made the same announcement and said its interests “are no longer best represented by AHIP.” (Muchmore and Herman, 1/5)

Aetna is leaving America’s Health Insurance Plans, the second major health insurer to leave the powerful K Street lobby group. Unum, a leading disability insurer with $10.5 billion in revenues last year, has also dropped out, POLITICO has learned. That’s a less significant blow since the company does not sell health insurance. (Palmer and Demko, 1/5)

When it comes to dealmaking, the health-care industry defied belief in 2015 with $605 billion of takeovers. While 2016 may be a good year, it’s unlikely to beat that record. “We entered 2015 with what I would characterize as almost a perfect M&A environment: a generally stable economy, lack of volatility in the equity markets, low interest rates, tons of cash on companies’ balance sheets,” said Jeff Stute, head of health-care investment banking at JPMorgan Chase & Co. His firm is hosting its annual conference next week in San Francisco, where health-care executives flock to hold court with top investors. (Koons and Chen, 1/6)