Statement on the Court's Decision in the Anthem-Cigna Mega-Merger Appeal

Rick Pollack
AHA President and CEO

Today’s ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals confirms that the Department of Justice (DOJ) made the right decision in challenging the Anthem-Cigna merger. The proposed insurance mega-merger could have jeopardized access to health care for millions of consumers, would have raised insurance costs and would have resulted in less innovation in health care delivery.

If the deal moved forward, insurers would have less of an incentive to work with hospitals on innovative arrangements to improve care throughout the delivery system for patients. In addition, Anthem’s use of market power against providers would have put access to and the quality of health care at risk.

We are pleased that this ruling has prevented the deal from moving forward as we continue to work with others to foster innovation in the health care field and protect health care affordability for all Americans.

About the AHA

The AHA is a not-for-profit association of health care provider organizations and individuals that are committed to the health improvement of their communities. The AHA is the national advocate for its members, which include nearly 5,000 hospitals, health care systems, networks, other providers of care and 43,000 individual members. Founded in 1898, the AHA provides education for health care leaders and is a source of information on health care issues and trends. For more information, visit the AHA website at www.aha.org.