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US: Anthem loses appeal of antitrust ruling against proposed Cigna merger

By  |  April 30, 2017

A federal appeals court has denied Anthem’s attempt to challenge a judge’s ruling that its proposed acquisition of Cigna violates antitrust law.

In a 2-1 decision issued Friday, a panel of judges upheld Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s decision to enjoin the $54 billion merger. In their written opinion, the panel said Anthem failed to demonstrate that the deal could achieve the “extraordinary efficiencies” necessary to offset the effect of losing Cigna as a competitor in the already highly concentrated markets where it sells employer-based plans to national accounts.

The court’s decision was welcome news for the American Medical Association, which had publicly opposed the merger and warned the Justice Department not to settle the case.

Full Content: Modern Health Care

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