American College of Physicians Praises Blocked Health Insurance Merger

PHILADELPHIA, April 28 -- The American College of Physicians issued the following news release:

The American College of Physicians (ACP) today praised this morning's decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upholding a lower court ruling halting the proposed $54 billion insurance merger between Anthem and Cigna. The ruling over the potential impact on competition and insurance prices is a big "win" for patients and the physicians who care for them.

As a primary care internist, I am relieved that the proposed merger will be blocked. This merger would have resulted in higher prices and less competition, and ultimately resulted in a strain on patients, both in their choice of insurance provider and in the cost that would be passed on to them.

In a January 23 ruling, a federal judge blocked a similar proposed merger between health insurers Aetna and Humana.

ACP has stated its strong opposition to the proposed merger in a letter (https://www.acponline.org/acp_policy/letters/insurance_consolidation_letter_doj_baer_2015.pdf) and subsequent conversations with Department of Justice (DOJ) officials, and in a position statement (https://www.acponline.org/acp_policy/policies/insurance_consolidation_policy_statement_2015.pdf) in 2015.

Other health care organizations have joined ACP in praising today's ruling (https://www.cadc.uscourts.gov/internet/opinions.nsf/55EC55639C87835E85258110004F41B9/$file/17-5024-1673054.pdf) as a win for consumers and patients.