CVS-Aetna, Cigna-Express Scripts mergers would lead to massive Part D consolidation
https://www.fiercehealthcare.com/payer/cvs-aetna-cigna-express-scripts-mergers-would-lead-to-massive-part-d-consolidation-analysis
Planned mergers between major health companies could lead to a serious anticompetitive landscape, a new analysis finds.
The proposed mergers of Cigna-Express Scripts and CVS Health-Aetna would further consolidate the Medicare Part D marketplace, research by the Kaiser Family Foundation found. The merged entities, plus Humana and UnitedHealth, would cover 71% of all Part D beneficiaries.
That type of dominance in the Part D market is comparable to Verizon and AT&T’s command of the wireless carrier industry. Those two companies occupy about 69% of the market, according to Statista.
Currently, three companies—UnitedHealth, Humana and CVS—already account for more than half of the program’s 43 million beneficiaries.
Critics of the mergers, including the American Medical Association, have said the deals, particularly CVS-Aetna, pose anticompetitive concerns, “unique to vertical mergers,” as new competitors would have to enter the market in both insurance and PBM to compete with the combined CVS-Aetna.
We continue “to strongly encourage state and federal officials to rigorously review the proposed mergers between pharmacy benefit managers and health insurers given the potential negative impact on pharmaceutical benefit management services, local health insurance markets, as well as local retail pharmacy markets, which in turn can harm consumers in these markets,” David O. Barbe, president of AMA, told FierceHealthcare in an email. “Close scrutiny is needed to determine if the ramifications of these massive mergers will threaten the benefits of competition, including increased access and choice, lower prices and higher quality care for patients.”
The companies, however, have argued that the deals will allow for more integrated care and will increase competition in the PBM sector, and lower drug costs for patients.
The Trump administration is pushing for more competition in the Part D market as part of a drug pricing blueprint, seemingly putting the mergers at odds with the White House’s vision.
RELATED: Trump targets Medicare, PBMs in plan to lower drug prices
The Department of Justice is currently reviewing the $69 billion deal between CVS and Aetna and has given few clues on whether the transaction will be approved. With its business-friendly approach, one might expect the White House to be more open to such a deal than the Obama administration, which blocked the Anthem-Cigna and Aetna-Humana deals.
However, the Trump administration’s decision to block the AT&T-Time Warner deal could indicate the proposed healthcare mergers might ultimately be too big, and too anticompetitive, to approve.
Filed under: General Problems
It is also easier for corrupted Doctors and the entire insurer to tamper w/patients records..For example,,my records were just severely tampered w/How,,,well the surgeon,,is also the medical director and on the board for the insurance company…He did and others can also,,,corruptly dictate or alter your entire medical history being in that position and all of your health records and care under 1 roof,,,,much easier to be corrupt and hide ,delete important medical data or history’ss,,,w/a merger like the one mentioned aboved,,,Also easier to corrupt s.o.p.,,for example again,,this surgeon claimed he did a chest x-ray before surgery,,,sorry ,,,no chest x-ray was ever done,,,He did this to cover his ass w/medicare,or private insurer,,which he on the board,,,to falsely prove he was following s.o.p.,,,when he never did,,,maryw
For those of us that have lived long enough or been taught history as it REALLY happened, are we moving towards a late 1930’s GERMANY? It doesn’t take a roket scientist nor a brain surgeon to realize that big business is NOT interested in the individual healthcare or cost of same. Profits for the stock holders is the MOST deciding factor for any and ALL large corporations. I am damn tired of the millions of citizens in this country that work HARD for what we have achieved to be under the authority of a monopoly. Crooked, businesmen, corkked greedy big business, attempted monopolies “playing” with peoples lives, and ultimately under Gestapo rule. What happened to the rule of law? The Constitution framers did the best job of attempting to allow the PEOPLE to make decisions that effect OUR lives but, it seems the loopholes and and $$$$$$$ talk louder than our rule of law. Hey, I have an idea, why not have euthanasia centers right beside our emergency rooms at our hospital facilities for those of us lready being “operated on” and since the PEOPLE have no voice any longer, at least give US the choice of life and death? Sounds a little gloomy? Try living our lives all of you “elect”. Is there NOT a politician capable of independent thought any longer? Do ALL of the “elect” simply follow the one that barks the loudest or is their personal income simply the “rule of law” now?