Despite warnings from the Justice Department, a federal judge says the partial government shutdown will not delay his review of CVS Health’s $69 billion acquisition of Hartford health insurer Aetna.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon on Friday shot down the Justice Department’s recent court filing that warned the partial shutdown, currently in day 24, could delay its response to public comments on the antitrust settlement DOJ agreed to with the companies in October. The action by DOJ is needed for Leon to complete his review of the deal the agency inked with the companies.
CVS closed its buyout of Aetna in November, but Leon is still reviewing DOJ’s agreement that allows the combination. Companies rarely wait for federal court approval before closing their deals and are not prohibited by law from combining before the settlement review.
In a court filing Friday, Leon wrote the “government’s internal, political squabble over funding is no reason to postpone the congressionally mandated evaluation of the government’s proposal to remedy the antitrust concerns allegedly raised by the merger’s consummation!”
Leon responded to a DOJ filing on Jan. 8 that said a lack of funding would delay their response to public comments on the antitrust deal, which requires Aetna to sell off its Medicare Part D prescription drug plans to a subsidiary of WellCare Health Plans Inc. The deal was aimed at resolving antitrust concerns.
The judge said he was surprised by the government’s arguments given their warnings that slowing implementation of the CVS-Aetna combination could create uncertainty for employers, customers and shareholders.
“If the merger will truly bring the benefits and efficiencies to the healthcare system the government claims it will, staying it because of this unfortunate funding impasse would be unwarranted and could have far-reaching consequences in markets that affects consumers’ health and well-being,” Leon said in the filing.
Leon said he expects government attorneys to “roll up their sleeves” and respond to the public’s concerns about the $69 billion deal by Feb. 15.
On Saturday, the partial government shutdown became the longest in U.S. history.
