Thursday, February 9, 2017
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Consumers Union, the policy and mobilization arm of Consumer Reports, praised a federal judge’s ruling to block Anthem from acquiring rival health insurer Cigna.
“The Justice Department laid out strong proof for the court that allowing these two health insurance giants to combine forces would have seriously harmed consumers across the country, especially those who get insurance through their workplace. These workers and their families would have found themselves boxed in with fewer choices, higher costs, and inferior quality coverage,” said George Slover, senior policy counsel for Consumers Union. “We are pleased the court has agreed that this merger needed to be stopped.”
Slover testified on behalf of Consumers Union before the Senate Judiciary Committee in September 2015, soon after the merger was announced, highlighting ways the merger could harm competition and consumers, and calling on the Justice Department to conduct a thorough review. Dena Mendelsohn, staff attorney at Consumers Union’s California Office, had testified before the California Department of Managed Health Care, and Betsy Imholz, Director of Special Projects in the California Office, testified before the California Department of Insurance, focusing on the adverse consumer impacts in California.