New coalition to advocate against health insurance mega mergers

A group of consumer advocates, employers and unions yesterday launched the Coalition to Protect Patient Choice to educate policymakers and the public on the importance of health insurance competition. The Coalition called on federal and state antitrust and regulatory authorities to challenge the proposed Anthem/Cigna and Aetna/Humana deals. "Health insurance markets are already highly concentrated throughout the United States, and typically dominated by either one or two incumbent insurers," said Mark Cooper, research director for the Consumer Federation of America. "The combination of Anthem and Cigna and Aetna and Humana will further weaken the feeble competition in a large number of insurance markets.” Among other resources, the coalition’s website includes a map showing states facing the greatest anticompetitive challenges from the proposed mergers. For more information, see today’s AHASTAT blog.