Anthem to Buy Cigna in Deal Valued at $54.2 Billion

[Recursion]

Source: New York Times

The health insurer Anthem said on Friday that it had agreed to acquire Cigna in a deal, including debt, that values its rival at $54.2 billion, the latest in a consolidation push among the nation’s biggest health insurers.

The deal comes just weeks after Aetna agreed to acquire Humana, the smallest of the big five insurers, for $37 billion in cash and stock. If both transactions are completed, they would shrink the number of major health insurers in the United States to three.

A combined Anthem-Cigna would have estimated revenue of about $115 billion and serve more than 53 million people with medical coverage.

...

Anthem, based in Indianapolis, operates well-known Blue Cross plans in 14 states and has a strong presence in offering Medicaid plans. Cigna, based in Bloomfield, Conn., is best known for offering plans through employers and selling other kinds of insurance like dental and disability.

Read more: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/07/25/business/dealbook/anthem-cigna-health-insurance-deal.html

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The actual mechanics of how Medicaid and Medicare use private insurers to do the provisioning probably needs to be looked at...

[liberal N proud]

1. There goes another change in my insurance

Gives the company an opportunity to screw us again.

[Turbineguy]

2. Well, there's $54.2 billion

they don't have to waste on patient care.

[customerserviceguy]

4. Hey, it was the savings

from outsourcing their IT security.

[peacebird]

3. I somehow doubt this is a GOOD thing for American consumers......

[Turbineguy]

5. With 53 million subscribers

they could kill more people than Stalin.

[joshcryer]

6. Yeah...

...no.

[joshcryer]

7. The beginning of health consolidation.

Under for private insurers.

Include a public option, similar outcome.

[peacebird]

8. i hope the consolidation brings us public single payer

It would be painful at first, all those CEO's, bean counters, & case managers whose real job is to deny coverage losing their jobs. But in the end it would be an improvement. Medicaide has a 3% overhead. If our entire heqlth care system had a 3% overheqd, think how much more qffordable health care could be

[Recursion]

12. But that 3% overhead only counts the money getting from Medicare to Cigna or Anthem

It's kind of a dishonest comparison: Medicare takes the money and gives it to a private insurer who provisions the insurance and care. Yes, that only costs Medicare 3%, but that's ignoring the margin in the provisioning contract by the private health insurer.

[Dustlawyer]

9. Who needs competition? I mean, these insurance companies consolidate so they can give

us better service and care, right?

Is the sarcasm thingy really needed?

[tomm2thumbs]

10. '...and serve more than 53 million people'

I don't think they serve anyone -- but themselves to a portion of people's money

It is the doctors and medical care professionals that need to be rewarded, not the corporate soul eaters like Cigna and Anthem.

[n2doc]

11. Let them consolidate into one megacorp

Then nationalize it.