Anthem terminates agreement to acquire Cigna

Anthem is terminating its merger agreement with Cigna after a Delaware court denied the health insurer’s request for a temporary restraining order to stop Cigna from terminating the agreement. AHA has advocated against the deal since it was announced in July 2015, vigorously supporting the Department of Justice’s challenge of the acquisition and providing extensive input to federal officials about the negative impacts that would result. When the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia blocked the proposed acquisition early this year, Anthem appealed. The AHA then filed a friend-of-the-court brief urging the court to affirm the lower court’s decision. As urged by the AHA, the appeals court last month held that the district court “reasonably determined Anthem failed to show the kind of ‘extraordinary efficiencies’ that would be needed to constrain likely price increases in this highly concentrated market, and to mitigate the threatened loss of innovation.”