In retrospect, it seems odd that so many business analysts expected the U.S. Department of Justice to approve the proposed mergers of four enormous health insurers.
From the time the proposed deals were announced last year, consumer advocates and Democratic politicians weren't warm to Aetna's plans to acquire Humana or Anthem's plans to buy Cigna. The acquisitions, if approved, would shrink the number of large health insurers in the country from five to three.
While many on the left have accused the Obama administration of coddling insurance companies, most notably by enshrining their role in the health care system through the Affordable Care Act, the president and his allies have also been vehement that the insurance business needs strong governmental oversight.
Complete your profile to continue reading and get FREE access to BenefitsPRO, part of your ALM digital membership.
Your access to unlimited BenefitsPRO content isn’t changing.
Once you are an ALM digital member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking benefits news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical converage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.