Dive Brief:
- Florida insurance regulators have given approval for Anthem's acquisition of Cigna's Florida companies.
- The deal includes Cigna Healthcare of Florida, Inc., Cigna Dental Health of Florida, Inc. and HealthSpring of Florida.
- The Office of Insurance Regulation's economic analysis of the deal found neither company has a dominant presence in the Florida market and the deal would not affect competition in the state.
Dive Insight:
Mergers and acquisitions in the healthcare sector continue to increase as previously reported by Healthcare Dive. Anthem's $54 billion acquisition of Cigna remains under scrutiny by the Department of Justice while many are concerned it will squash private payer competition - viewed as key to reducing costs and improving quality of care. Both the American Medical Association (AMA) and the American Hospital Association (AHA) have been opposed to the deals.