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Friday, Mar 29, 2024

Court Rejects Anthem’s Takeover of Cigna

A federal judge ruled in favor of the Justice Department in a civil antitrust lawsuit to block health insurer Anthem, Inc.’s acquisition of Cigna Corp. Anthem, which is headquartered in Indianapolis but manages its California operations out of Thousand Oaks, offered to pay $54 billion for Cigna, a smaller insurer in Bloomfield, Conn. But U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson in Washington, D.C. ruled for a coalition of the Justice Department and 11 states, including California. “This merger would have stifled competition, harming consumers by increasing health insurance prices and slowing innovation aimed at lowering the costs of health care,” Acting Assistant Attorney General Brent Snyder said in a statement. “In concluding that Anthem’s acquisition of Cigna would violate federal antitrust laws, the court has protected consumers and the competition on which they rely.” The district court’s opinion is temporarily under seal to allow the parties to review for confidentiality, according to the Justice Department.

Joel Russel
Joel Russel
Joel Russell joined the Los Angeles Business Journal in 2006 as a reporter. He transferred to sister publication San Fernando Valley Business Journal in 2012 as managing editor. Since he assumed the position of editor in 2015, the Business Journal has been recognized four times as the best small-circulation tabloid business publication in the country by the Alliance of Area Business Publishers. Previously, he worked as senior editor at Hispanic Business magazine and editor of Business Mexico.

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