Two major health insurance mergers – Anthem with Cigna, and Aetna with Humana – are winding their way through the regulatory process. As with all large mergers, the Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division or the Federal Trade Commission will weigh in with an opinion as to whether the merger will substantially impact consumer prices. As with most mergers in highly regulated industries, various other regulatory agencies and state governments will step in as well.
What is different this time, however, is federal law that substantially limits the impact – either for good or ill – on consumers. That, of course, is the Affordable Care Act (ACA).
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