Four major U.S. insurers reported earnings Wednesday with mixed results, as speculation swirls that some insurance companies could be eligible for participation in the Treasury Department’s rescue programs.

MetLife (MET), the largest U.S. insurer, fared the best, reporting third-quarter earnings that fell 39% but which still met Wall Street expectations.

The decline in profit stemmed from higher payouts this quarter totaling $1.2 billion for benefits and claims, as well as higher operating costs, the company said.

Profit after paying preferred dividends was $600 million, or 83 cents per share, down from $985 million, or $1.29, during the same period a year ago. Operating profit fell to 88 cents per share. That result was in line with estimates of analysts surveyed by Thomson Reuters, who forecast profit of 88 cents per share on revenue of $13.37 billion.

Total revenue for the quarter rose to $13.38 billion from $11.68 billion a year ago, as premiums, fees and other revenue jumped 16 percent to $8.6 billion.

Aetna (AET), the third-largest U.S. health insurer, also reported a decline in third-quarter profit. The company said earnings fell 44 percent on investment loses tied to the global financial crisis.

Aetna's net income fell to $277.3 million, or 58 cents per share, from $496.7 million, or 95 cents per share, a year earlier.

Aetna Chairman and CEO Ronald Williams told FOX Business Network in an interview that his company is financially solid, and that he would like to see a public/private partnership to solve the nation’s health-care policy problems.

“Fundamentally, our operating financials are very good,” Williams said in response to a question about whether his company was encountering the same problems as American International Group (AIG), which has received more than $100 billion in government loans. “We’re very solid, we have a very strong asset base…. We’re very conservative on our portfolio.

When asked if Aetna would be interested in buying any parts of AIG, Williams said the firm’s merger and acquisition strategy looks mostly at “companies that can help us do a better job managing access and quality,” as well as companies that would help Aetna with innovation.

In terms of how to improve overall U.S. health-care policy, Williams said “our preference is that we have a public/private partnership… What we need is a collaborative process” to expand the ranks of insured Americans, attempt to reduce costs and improve quality of care.

Prudential Financial (PRU) posted a loss as investments went sour.

The net loss was $108 million, or 23 cents a share, compared with a profit of $860 million, or $1.88 a share, during the same quarter in 2007.

Prudential, the top U.S. writer of annuities, said adjusted operating earnings, which analysts use to measure performance, totaled $308 million, or 74 cents a share.

A year ago, Prudential had $976 million, or $2.13 a share, in operating earnings.

The Hartford Financial Services Group (HIG) also reported a third quarter loss.

The company said in a statement that losses came to $2.6 billion, or $8.74 per diluted share. The Hartford’s net income in the third quarter of 2007 was $851 million, or $2.68 per diluted share.