UnitedHealthcare is pulling out of the health insurance exchange for Iowa in 2017, regulators announced Monday, in a move that fits with a broader pullback due to financial losses.

The nation’s largest insurer was a newcomer to the exchange market in Iowa this year, with coverage from UnitedHealthcare making its debut Jan. 1.

The Iowa Insurance Division said about 8,700 people currently buy the company’s health insurance through the exchange in Iowa, which uses the federal government’s HealthCare.gov website. As of February, about 55,000 Iowa residents had signed up for individual coverage through the exchange.

“We’re obviously disappointed about UnitedHealthcare’s decision as thousands of Iowans are now forced to make changes,” Nick Gerhart, the state’s insurance commissioner, said in a statement. “Thankfully we anticipate having other offerings around the state.”

Wellmark Blue Cross and Blue Shield, which is the dominant carrier in Iowa’s individual market, has said it will start selling policies through Iowa’s exchange in 2017.

Insurance agents in the state have said that consumer interest in the exchange has been hurt by the absence of Wellmark and other insurers.

In May 2015, both UnitedHealthcare and Minnetonka-based Medica said they would start selling exchange coverage for 2016 in Iowa. On Monday, Medica said it plans to continue selling coverage in the state next year, adding that it enrolled fewer Iowa residents than UnitedHealthcare.

Earlier this month, UnitedHealthcare said it would continue selling coverage through just a handful of 34 state exchange markets where it currently competes. Overall growth in the market has fallen short of projections, the company said, and enrollees have incurred more medical costs than expected.

UnitedHealthcare has not specified where it will continue selling policies through the government-run online marketplaces, which launched for 2014 under the federal Affordable Care Act.

The federal health law requires almost all Americans to have coverage or pay a tax penalty. The exchanges are an option for individuals and families buying coverage outside of employer groups and government insurance programs.

A study this month from the Kaiser Family Foundation found that in many Iowa counties, UnitedHealthcare currently is one of just three insurers selling “silver” policies. What’s more, UnitedHealthcare’s coverage is relatively affordable on Iowa’s exchange compared with policies from competing carriers, according to the study.

UnitedHealthcare no longer will sell policies to individuals through the government-run exchange in Iowa, nor will it sell to small businesses through the exchange, according to Monday’s announcement from the Iowa Insurance Division. UnitedHealthcare also will stop selling coverage to individuals in Iowa’s “off-exchange” market.

Regulators have not said whether UnitedHealthcare will continue selling through HealthCare.gov in Wisconsin for 2017. The company will no longer be an option on the exchange in Nebraska next year, according to state regulators.

UnitedHealthcare doesn’t sell through HealthCare.gov in North Dakota or South Dakota, or through Minnesota’s MNsure exchange.

Twitter: @chrissnowbeck