Humana is said to be in hot pursuit of a sale following Thursday's Supreme Court decision in the King v. Burwell case to uphold subsidies on federal exchanges, according to The New York Times.
Humana is pursuing a deal to sell itself and could reach an agreement by next week, according to the report, which relied on information from people familiar with the matter. Aetna and Cigna have both shown interest in taking over Humana.
Humana's pursuits received an extra boost from the Supreme Court's ruling, according to The New York Times. The report notes that insurers, in particular, had been counting on those billions of dollars in tax subsidies to attract new customers, especially as Medicare and Medicaid are increasingly looking to private payers to offer coverage.
Humana's pursuits for a buyer come amid frenzied merger discussions within the insurance industry. While Aetna and Cigna have both shown interest in taking over Humana; Anthem has also made numerous takeover bids for Cigna, which Cigna has rejected; and UnitedHealth Group approached Aetna about a takeover deal.
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