Health Insurance giants Aetna and Athem have proposed acquiring Humana and Cigna respectively. This would make them number 2 and 3 behind UnitedHealthcare. CEOs from Aetna and Anthem along with officials from health insurance groups and advocacy groups testified to the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights on the proposed mergers on September 22nd. The insurance CEOs were Chairman, President and CEO of Aetna Mark T. Bertolini and Anthem President and CEO Joseph R. Swedish and argued industry consolidation would benefit consumers.
The Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights jurisdiction is: Oversight of antitrust law and competition policy, including the Sherman, Clayton and Federal Trade Commission Acts; (2) Oversight of antitrust enforcement and competition policy at the Justice Department; (3) Oversight of antitrust enforcement and competition policy at the Federal Trade Commission; (4) Oversight of competition policy at other federal agencies.
The Senate Committee on the Judiciary held the hearing of the Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights “Examining Consolidation in the Health Insurance Industry and its Impact on Consumers” on Tuesday September 22, 2015 in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. The hearing was 2 hours long.
Prepared Statement by Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa Chairman, Senate Judiciary Committee.
C-Span
Will the savings from the mergers be passed down from the insurers to the consumer? Hear how Bertolini and Swedish answered that question when asked at the hearing.
More on Industry Views and Reports
- Newsroom of Senator Richard Blumenthal – Blumenthal Reiterates Call for Intense Scrutiny of Health Insurance Mergers at Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing.
- ACO Watch – Health Insurance Industry Consolidation: Any ‘Qui Tam’ Exposure? by Gregg A. Masters, MPH.
- The New York Times – Health Insurers Seeking Mergers Play Down Antitrust Concerns by Robert Pear.
- The Wall Street Journal – Health Insurers Aetna, Anthem Defend Deals, Say Markets Will Stay Competitive: Mergers will benefit consumers, CEOs of both companies tell Senate panel by Anna Wilde Mathews and Brent Kendall.
- The Boston Globe – Anthem, Aetna defend mergers called harmful by hospitals by Zachary Tracer.
- US News & World Report – CEOs of Aetna, Anthem make case for big health insurance mergers; panel looks at competition by Tom Murphy and Marcy Gordon, AP Business Writers
- Kaiser Health News – Aetna, Anthem CEOs Tell Senators That Super-Mergers Won’t Stifle Insurer Competition.