AMA: Court finds Anthem-Cigna merger is bad medicine for patients

“In a David vs. Goliath battle between consumers and mega insurers, a federal judge today ruled that Anthem’s proposed acquisition of Cigna poses a clear and present threat to the quality, accessibility and affordability of health care in the United States. The AMA applauds the fact-based ruling by Judge Amy Berman Jackson, which stopped in its tracks the creation of an immense corporate entity that would have been too big to regulate with virtually unlimited power over the health care of millions of consumers.

“Judge Jackson’s findings lay to rest the insurers’ spurious argument that the merger’s anticompetitive effects for consumers will be mitigated by promised efficiencies. The AMA agrees with Judge Jackson’s conclusion that Anthem’s strategy of gaining size to strong-arm physicians would not have benefited consumers. Instead, it would diminish prospects for innovation in health care delivery and payment.