Insurance regulators in Wisconsin told the Star Tribune today that UnitedHealthcare will not be an option on the state's health insurance exchange in 2017.

This isn't surprising, really, given word earlier this week that the nation's largest insurer currently plans to sell health insurance through exchanges next year in three states -- Nevada, New York and Virginia.

But the company has not commented on exits from specific states until regulators in different states make the announcement.

UnitedHealthcare has been a relatively high-cost option for exchange customers in Wisconsin, but insurance agents in the northern part of the state were worried, nonetheless, about an exit by the insurer.

That's because some of the remaining health plan options tend to direct patients to one health system or another, whereas national insurers sometimes provide patients with a broader set of choices in doctors and hospitals.