Health insurers Aetna and Humana said the U.S. Department of Justice belated releasing sought-after documents that would help the insurers defend their proposed $37 billion transaction, Hartford Courant reports.
The insurers are asking for sanctions over unreleased CMS documents. The payers argue the DOJ held the documents for too long and there is no longer enough time to use the documents in their case.
In its lawsuit, the DOJ argued Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna's proposed acquisition of Louisville, Ky.-based Humana would impede competition in the Medicare Advantage market.
The payers countered this argument by saying their traditional Medicare and Medicare Advantage market shares should be considered holistically. A joint Aetna-Humana entity would cover 8 percent of a combined Medicare market, as opposed to 25 percent of a strictly Medicare Advantage market.
The insurer said the sanctions would "infer that CMS views Medicare Advantage as part of the same product market as original Medicare," according to the Hartford Courant. In addition, Aetna and Humana said suggested sanctions would presume CMS approves a proposed $117 million Medicare Advantage divesture of 290,000 Medicare Advantage beneficiaries to Long Beach, Calif.-based Molina Healthcare.
The trail is slated to begin Dec. 5.
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