During a merger investigation, the complaints of the third parties, including consumers, are incredibly important to the reviewing agencies. As noted in past blogs, the key inquiry for the enforcement agencies and state regulators is does the merger substantially lessen competition? To simplify that question, does the merger make the market worse—i.e. will prices be higher, will there be less choice, and will quality/innovation deteriorate. In the case of Anthem/Cigna and A

Along with the Federal Government, the states are also empowered to enforce the antitrust laws. If a merger is deemed anticompetitive, the state’s attorney general can bring a lawsuit on behalf of the residents of their state under federal antitrust law. In mergers, state and federal enforcers typically work collectively to investigate the competitive effects. This allows the state to use the same investigative procedures used by the Department of Justice Antitrust Divisio