US: Watchdog group wants probe of White House role in Anthem-Cigna merger

Watchdog group led by former Obama administration lawyers is calling for an investigation into whether the White House is trying to interfere with the Justice Department’s decision to block the merger of health insurance giants Anthem and Cigna.

“We are concerned that Administration officials may have engaged in inappropriate conduct regarding the Anthem-Cigna litigation,” Ian Bassin, the executive director of United to Protect Democracy wrote in the letter to Michael Horowitz, the inspector general for the Justice Department. “Were the White House to engage in any contacts with DOJ about this ongoing antitrust enforcement matter, it would substantially undermine Americans’ confidence in the Department’s commitment to equal justice under law.”

Bassin’s group has no evidence of any improper action, but noted in its letter that Anthem chief executive Joseph Swedish talked with President Trump on the phone last week and that a former Anthem lobbyist, Makan Delrahim, works as a senior official in the White House Counsel’s office and reportedly is Trump’s pick to head the antitrust division at the Justice Department.

A White House spokesperson dismissed the letter’s concerns as baseless, noting that Trump spoke with Swedish about health care reform. The spokesperson said the White House took precautions to ensure that neither the merger nor any related litigation was discussed. She added that Delrahim has not been involved in the Anthem-Cigna merger since joining the White House and has recused himself from any involvement in the matter.

“The letter provides no information to suggest that the White House’s policy was not followed as to the Anthem-Cigna merger or related litigation, or that there has been any improper communication between the White House and the Department of Justice regarding these issues,” the spokesperson said, who was not authorized to speak on the record.

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