United Healthcare Involved in Merger Lawsuits
While two proposed mergers involve four of the largest insurance carriers, United Healthcare (UHC) appears to be going at it alone. However, the Connecticut company once considered a merger with Cigna, who instead went with Anthem. As a result, the Department of Justice (DOJ) has requested sensitive information from UHC, according to a report from the CT Mirror.
In response to the proposed mergers, the DOJ has filed an antitrust lawsuit to block both after completing an investigation. The organization believes that consolidating four companies into two larger ones would reduce competition, increase premiums and result in poorer-quality care for millions of Americans.
Because UHC reached out to Cigna previously, the DOJ wants the information Cigna provided as evidence to block the merger. In response, UHC has since sent the DOJ a large amount of sensitive and confidential documents about its rival. About this decision, UHC told the press, “The sweeping scope of the DOJ’s concurrent investigations required United (Healthcare) to produce extensive, highly confidential documents and data.”
While this has been going on, UHC has had to deal with other insurance companies looking to obtain the same trade secrets.
Although a company might not like its proprietary information being released, this is a common DOJ request during anti-trust lawsuits.
After a high amount of coverage in 2016, both mergers are now going to trial. The first one, not yet approved in Connecticut, is the Anthem-Cigna merger, scheduled for November 21st. Locally, current Insurance Commissioner Katherine Wade has ties to Cigna as the former vice president, an association which has allegedly created a conflict. The second, Aetna merging with Humana, was approved in Connecticut, but is going to trial on December 5th.
Concerned about how these mergers could affect your coverage? To learn more about how your policy could change, give us a call today at 203.439.2815.
