Medicine claims another victory in insurance mega-mergers

Report from the NCMS Annual Physician Meet and Greet and Family Barbeque
April 28, 2017
Coming soon to your mailbox: MIPS participation status letters
April 28, 2017
Report from the NCMS Annual Physician Meet and Greet and Family Barbeque
April 28, 2017
Coming soon to your mailbox: MIPS participation status letters
April 28, 2017
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Medicine claims another victory in insurance mega-mergers

On April 28, a federal appeals court upheld the lower court’s ruling to block industry giant Anthem’s proposed acquisition of Cigna. This is a monumental win for America’s patients and physicians, which was made possible through medicine’s joint leadership — most notably collaboration between the Colorado Medical Society/Northern Colorado Medical Society and the American Medical Association.

“These insurance companies were trying to stack the deck,” said AMA President Andrew W. Gurman, MD. “They sought even more negotiating power over you. But, using hard data in conjunction with partners, we were able to convince the courts not to allow this to occur.”

Barring an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, this decision concludes a successful campaign by the AMA and 17 state medical societies, including key work from the Colorado Medical Society and Northern Colorado Medical Society to protect you and your patients. Together, we collected the insights, analysis and facts needed to win this case, again.

It is not yet known if Anthem will persist and petition the U.S. Supreme Court. “We must remain steadfast in our resolve to block Anthem’s power play,” said CMS President Katie Lozano, MD, FACR. “We are deeply grateful for the talent and resources brought to bear in this legal challenge by the AMA’s expert team, our very own Attorney General Cynthia Coffman, and our colleagues in the most affected states.”

For 21 months, AMA, state medical societies and other partners examined the current landscape in each state, as well as the future implications of these proposed mega-mergers. The AMA’s annual Competition in Health Insurance, an analysis of insurance markets, showed nearly half of all states could see diminished competition in local health insurance markets if the Anthem-Cigna and Aetna-Humana mega-mergers were allowed to proceed.

With the evidence on our side, the coalition advocated before the U.S. Department of Justice, congressional committees, state attorneys general, insurance commissioners, and federal courts, and this outcome illustrates that when the House of Medicine joins together, the best outcome for patients and doctors can be achieved.

At a time when there are too many divisions, medicine has come together. Help sustain our advocacy efforts on issues of importance to you and your patients. Join the AMA. Join or renew with NCMS and CMS, and support our continued, shared success.