The Connecticut Insurance Department confirmed Thursday that it had completed its review of Aetna’s proposed $37 billion acquisition of Humana.
The Connecticut Mirror reported on the approval Wednesday. Insurance Department spokeswoman Donna Tommelleo confirmed Thursday morning to the Hartford Business Journal that the department had completed its review without objection in late January.
The confidential review is known as a Form E filing. It’s meant to determine whether a proposed deal would substantially lessen competition or create a monopoly in Connecticut.
The deal still needs pending approvals from a number of other states’ insurance regulators.
The Connecticut Campaign for Consumer Choice today sharply criticized the insurance department for its approval of the merger. The group said it occurred without any public process or analysis of how the merger will impact cost, patient access to care, and Connecticut jobs.
“Aetna has already eliminated over 10 percent of their job force in Connecticut, is telegraphing additional cuts and borrowing $16 billion on the promise of further cost savings. The Commissioner of Insurance has failed to live up to her fiduciary duty to protect consumers, employees, the community and shareholders in rubber stamping this deal in the dark of the night,” said Tom Swan, executive director of the Connecticut Citizen Action Group.
Compared to the Aetna deal, the Insurance Department is playing a much larger role in Anthem’s proposed $54 billion acquisition of Bloomfield-based Cigna. That review is ongoing. The process involves a change of control application and a public hearing.
The department is required to weigh factors including Anthem’s financial condition and whether the deal would lessen competition or create monopoly in the state.
[Editor’s note: This story has been updated to included comments from Connecticut Campaign for Consumer Choice.]
