Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
Anthems Bid for Cigna Blocked by Judge as Anticompetitive
Source: Bloomberg
Anthem’s Bid for Cigna Blocked by Judge as Anticompetitive
by Zachary Tracer , David McLaughlin , and Andrew M Harris
February 8, 2017, 7:05 PM EST February 8, 2017, 7:53 PM EST
Anthem Inc.’s $48 billion deal to buy Cigna Corp. was blocked by a federal judge, putting an end to the second of two massive mergers that would have reshaped the U.S. health-care landscape.
The transaction violates antitrust laws by reducing competition among insurers, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington ruled Wednesday. With the deal defeated, Anthem owes Cigna a $1.85 billion breakup fee under the terms of the agreement they reached in July 2015.
The deal, along with Aetna Inc.’s proposed tie-up with Humana Inc., which was blocked last month, would have reduced the ranks of big U.S. health insurers to three from five and made Anthem the largest by membership.
While the Aetna-Humana case primarily focused on the market for private health insurance plans for the elderly, known as Medicare Advantage, the Anthem-Cigna case largely turned on the market for health plans sold to employers. In her ruling, the judge looked at its likely effect on the sale of health insurance to “national accounts” -- customers with more than 5,000 employees, usually spread over at least two states -– within the 14 states where Anthem operates as the Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
by Zachary Tracer , David McLaughlin , and Andrew M Harris
February 8, 2017, 7:05 PM EST February 8, 2017, 7:53 PM EST
Anthem Inc.’s $48 billion deal to buy Cigna Corp. was blocked by a federal judge, putting an end to the second of two massive mergers that would have reshaped the U.S. health-care landscape.
The transaction violates antitrust laws by reducing competition among insurers, U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington ruled Wednesday. With the deal defeated, Anthem owes Cigna a $1.85 billion breakup fee under the terms of the agreement they reached in July 2015.
The deal, along with Aetna Inc.’s proposed tie-up with Humana Inc., which was blocked last month, would have reduced the ranks of big U.S. health insurers to three from five and made Anthem the largest by membership.
While the Aetna-Humana case primarily focused on the market for private health insurance plans for the elderly, known as Medicare Advantage, the Anthem-Cigna case largely turned on the market for health plans sold to employers. In her ruling, the judge looked at its likely effect on the sale of health insurance to “national accounts” -- customers with more than 5,000 employees, usually spread over at least two states -– within the 14 states where Anthem operates as the Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee.
[font size=1]-snip-[/font]
Read more: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2017-02-09/anthem-s-bid-for-cigna-blocked-by-judge-as-anticompetitive
2 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
= new reply since forum marked as read
