Antitrust enforcers frequently attempt to solve anti-competitive mergers through divestitures, requiring spinoffs of assets to acquiring firms in places where there are anticompetitive overlaps. The Department of Justice (DOJ), when handling health insurance mergers, has exclusively relied on this approach. In a health insurance merger involving divestitures, beneficiaries from one of the merging parties simply switch insurance to a new insurer at the behest of the parties an

In a recent article for the Columbus Dispatch, a spokesperson for the Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI) acknowledged that the health insurance mergers of Anthem-Cigna and Aetna-Humana were “currently under review by the department.” However, the spokesperson also told the Dispatch that ODI will not hold public hearings on the mergers. The ODI’s belief that they are not empowered or have the authority to hold hearings is simply incorrect. The statute in question is Ohio Revis

Last Friday Families USA held its annual Health Action conference on health care in the United States. The conference offered a number of panels on various issues, including a panel focused on mergers in the health care industry. All of the presenters expressed concerns about consolidation within the health care industry, and offered advice on its impact and possible responses. Assistant Professor of Law Erin Brown from Georgia State University gave the first presentation on

California regulators are concerned that too much consolidation in the health insurance industry could weaken competition and increase premiums for consumers, and it is possible that they may reject the mergers subject to their approval. At this moment, regulators are reviewing three pending mergers: Anthem’s acquisition of Cigna for $52 billion, Aetna’s acquisition of Humana for $37 billion, and Centene’s $7 billion bid for HealthNet. All three of these mergers require appro