Connecticut’s senior U.S. Sen. Richard Blumenthal said Wednesday he opposes two pending insurance mega-mergers and is asking the Department of Justice to block the deals.
Blumenthal co-authored a letter with several other U.S. Democratic senators asking the Department of Justice to reject the proposed Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna mergers because of their “detrimental impact” on “premium prices, jobs and health care costs for consumers and businesses.”
“These mega-mergers are job killers.” Blumenthal said. “I strongly support steps to help these insurers succeed and expand here in Connecticut, so they can do more business and more hiring here. We need them – as thriving, independent competitors.”
The senators said both deals would substantially harm competition. Specifically, they said the Aetna-Humana merger would harm the Medicare Advantage market, while the Anthem deal would grow Blue Cross Blue Shield’s customer base to 120 million covered lives.
Blumenthal’s public opposition to the deals puts him a tricky spot since Cigna (Bloomfield) and Aetna (Hartford) are both based in Connecticut.
Connecticut Insurance Commissioner Katharine Wade has already approved the Aetna deal, and is currently weighing the Cigna merger, although consumer advocates are trying to force her to recuse herself from the oversight because of her past ties with the company.
