AMA Issues Statement on Anthem Termination of Cigna Merger Agreement

WASHINGTON, May 12 -- The American Medical Association issued the following statement by President Andrew W. Gurman on Anthem's termination of the Cigna merger agreement:

"Today's action marks the end of a proposed merger that the American Medical Association, courts and regulators widely condemned as a bad deal for patients and harmful to the nation's health system.

"The termination of the Anthem-Cigna merger is a clear victory to preserve competition in the health insurance industry. To the detriment of patients, there is already far too little competition among insurers. Networks are already too narrow, and premiums are already too high. Competition, not consolidation, is the right prescription for health insurance markets.

"Following 21 months of advocacy before the U.S. Department of Justice, congressional committees, state attorneys general, insurance commissioners, and federal courts, the break-up of the Anthem-Cigna mega merger deal shows again that when doctors join together, the best outcome for patients and doctors can be achieved."

Today's action concludes a successful campaign by the AMA and 17 state medical societies - on behalf of patients and physicians - to stop the Anthem-Cigna merger. In September 2015, soon after the merger was proposed, the AMA released Competition in Health Insurance, an annual analysis of insurance markets that showed nearly half of all states could see diminished competition in local health insurance markets if the Anthem-Cigna and Aetna-Humana mega-mergers were allowed to proceed. That same month, AMA leaders testified before Congress regarding the mergers. They argued for more choices for patients for health care services and coverage, and for close scrutiny of the proposed mergers, respectively. Two months later, the AMA outlined detailed concerns with further market consolidation and urged the DOJ to block the proposed mergers.

Over the past year and a half, the AMA and its coalition of state medical societies worked tirelessly to protect patients and block the mergers. For more information on the steps taken by the AMA to maintain competition in the insurance marketplace, view a comprehensive timeline or read AMA Wire (https://wire.ama-assn.org/ama-news/physician-work-helps-halt-insurance-mergers-preserve-competition).

About the American Medical Association

The American Medical Association is the premier national organization providing timely, essential resources to empower physicians, residents and medical students to succeed at every phase of their medical lives. Physicians have entrusted the AMA to advance the art and science of medicine and the betterment of public health on behalf of patients for more than 170 years. For more information, visit ama-assn.org.