AMA releases analyses on possible Anthem-Cigna, Aetna-Humana mergers

The combined impact of proposed mergers among four of the nation's largest health insurance companies would exceed federal antitrust guidelines designed to preserve competition in as many as 97 metropolitan areas within 17 states, according to new special analyses of commercial health insurance markets issued today by the American Medical Association (AMA).

For these locations, the mergers would enhance market power. According to the U.S. Department of Justice, "a merger enhances market power if it is likely to encourage one or more firms to raise price, reduce output, diminish innovation, or otherwise harm customers as a result of diminished competitive constraints or incentives."