US: Providers warn against CVS-Aetna merger at California hearing

CVS Health and Aetna executives defended their $69 billion proposed merger before the California insurance commissioner on Tuesday, as a panel of antitrust experts and healthcare providers chipped away at the companies’ promise to lower U.S. healthcare costs and improve the quality of care without harming competition.

Although California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones doesn’t have direct approval authority over the merger because Aetna isn’t based in California, his opinion could influence how other state regulators view the deal.

Antitrust experts and provider organization representatives who testified at the hearing spoke against the merger. Dr. Barbara McAneny, president of the American Medical Association and an oncologist in Albuquerque, told Jones that the AMA is recommending that state and federal regulators block the proposed merger after an analysis found it “would substantially lessen competition in many healthcare markets to the detriment of patients.”

The association’s analysis concluded the deal would increase premiums for Medicare Part D drug plans and increase drug spending and out-of-pocket costs. Speaking as a physician, McAneny also argued that the merger would make it harder for oncologists to care for patients by increasing the price of already expensive specialty pharmaceutical drugs used to treat complex diseases like cancer, cystic fibrosis and autoimmune diseases

Full Content: Modern HealthCare

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