In our mission to work for a fair, just, and safe marketplace for all consumers, we have examined proposed mergers in health insurance and other markets to assess whether they threaten to impede the competitive nature of the marketplace, potentially reducing choice as well as affordability, quality, and the incentive to innovate. Given that the federal Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission both granted early termination of the waiting period under the Hart Scott Rodino Antitrust Improvements Act of 1976 (HSR Act), Californians now rely on state actors to protect consumer interests. We, therefore, turn to the Department of Managed Healthcare (DMHC) to ensure that when
plans such as Centene and Health Net merge, the sum of the two plans is better than what consumers get when the plans stand alone.