On July 21, Ohio joined the U.S. Department of Justice and eight other attorneys general in challenging Aetna’s proposed acquisition of Humana. Aetna and Humana are two of the nation’s five largest health insurers.
In the lawsuit challenging the proposed combination, medicine the Department of Justice and attorneys general allege that the $37 billion merger would lead to higher health insurance prices, sick reduced benefits, less innovation, and worse service for over a million Americans. The attorneys general of Ohio, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and the District of Columbia are parties to the lawsuit.
The complaint alleges that the merger could substantially reduce competition for the sale of Medicare Advantage plans in numerous counties throughout the United States, including the Ohio counties of Brown, Butler, Clermont, Columbiana, Delaware, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Jefferson, Marion, Meigs, Muskingum, and Seneca.
A second suit, to which Ohio is not a party, opposes the proposed merger of Anthem and Cigna.