Dive Brief:
- The merger of health insurance giants "would significantly compromise market competition in the health insurance industry and threaten health care access, quality and affordability," the president of the AMA said as the group released new analyses of the mergers.
- In the analysis, the AMA claims the Anthem-Cigna merger would diminish competition in 121 metro areas across 14 states, and that the Aetna-Humana merger would diminish it in 51 metro areas across 15 states.
- The studies also note an "unprecedented lack of competition" that already exists in many states, the AMA says.
Dive Insight:
The AMA has opposed the proposed mergers for many months, and the Justice Department and many state attorneys general have gone to court to block them. The new analyses are intended to back up the AMA's opposition.
Although their overall conclusions won't come as a surprise to people who have been following the mergers, the analyses use data compiled for the first time from health insurance exchanges.
"With existing competition in health insurance markets already at alarmingly low levels, federal and state antitrust officials have powerful reasons to block harmful mergers and foster a more competitive marketplace that will operate in patients' best interests," Dr. Andrew W. Gurman, AMA president, said in a statement.