Sen. Franken’s Statement on Justice Department Move to Block Proposed Health Insurance Mergers

Today, U.S. Sen. Al Franken issued the following statement on the Department of Justice's (DOJ) move to block proposed health insurance mergers that could hurt consumers:

"The Department of Justice made the right move for American consumers today by moving to block these proposed mergers," said Sen. Franken. "If allowed to go forward, the deals would have further consolidated our country's health insurance market-meaning fewer choices and potentially higher costs for American consumers and businesses. I've been concerned about these deals for a long time now, and I'm glad that DOJ has similarly recognized the harm that they would cause to American seniors, families, employers, and healthcare providers. We need more competition in the health insurance markets, not less."

Last September, at a hearing examining the Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna deals, Senator Franken asked the CEOs of Aetna and Anthem whether they would commit to passing on any savings from the mergers to their customers in the form of lower premiums-a commitment neither of them were willing to make. And last month Sen. Franken, a member of the Senate Health Committee and Senate Judiciary Committee, expressed deep concern about these proposed mergers, calling on the DOJ to challenge both the Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna deals. You can read a copy of his letter by going to: http//www.modernhealthcare.com/assets/pdf/CH105824622.PDF.

Read this original document at: https://www.franken.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=3516