Victory: Anthem-Cigna Merger Blocked by Court February 10, 2017 AMA AMA, Anthem, Cigna, Merger 0 In a significant win for organized medicine and the nation’s patients, federal judge Amy Berman Jackson blocked the proposed Anthem-Cigna merger. The judge found that the merger would have substantially lessened competition for the sale of health insurance to national employers resulting in higher prices and diminished prospects for innovation. In a historic, stunning affirmation of the position urged by the AMA and consequently adopted by the government, Judge Jackson concluded that an enhanced ability to coerce physicians to accept lower reimbursement is not a merger efficiency defense. She determined that it would not benefit consumers and “would erode the relationship between insurers and providers” and “reduce the collaboration” that is essential to innovation in payment and delivery. The decision affirms the position urged by AMA and the 17-state medical association antitrust coalition members, particularly our partners in CA, CO, CT, GA, FL, IN, ME, MO, NY, OH, and VA. The AMA/coalition position was adopted in the plaintiffs’ complaint, and the judge rejected the insurers’ arguments that lowered physician reimbursement would benefit consumers and justify the merger. The AMA and its coalition partners worked tirelessly to oppose this merger: updating our gold standard Competition in Health Insurance: A Comprehensive Study of U.S. Markets; preparing detailed market analyses specific to the proposed Anthem-Cigna merger; sending comprehensive, evidence-based advocacy letters to the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and state regulators after the merger was announced in July 2015; engaging like-minded stakeholders like the American Hospital Association and various patient coalitions, as well as the National Association of Attorneys General; conducting extensive physician surveys to gauge physician concern about the merger and presenting the DOJ and state regulators with compelling survey results; testifying in or submitting memoranda in various state insurance department hearings and/or attorney general investigations, and making that, and other evidence and testimony, available to the DOJ and state regulators; securing outside experts to buttress our arguments and strip down those of the insurers -- all demonstrating how the merger would harm patients and physicians. This victory is the result of our relentless, focused and collaborative advocacy. We want to take this opportunity to thank all of our coalition partners for helping us achieve this historic victory on behalf of our physician members and their patients. The impact of blocking both mega-mergers cannot be overstated. Our collective work on both mergers is, without a doubt, a model for future advocacy success. Comments are closed.
