The American Medical Association has warned the California Department of Insurance that Anthem acquiring Cigna would be harmful to California's healthcare marketplace.
"California should act to block the harmful merger and foster a more competitive marketplace that will operate in patients' best interests," said AMA antitrust attorney Henry Allen during the testimony. "The state's fragile healthcare system should not be left vulnerable to a giant health insurance company with anticompetitive market power."
The AMA, which conducted an analysis to substantiate its claims, claimed Anthem is severely dominating the majority of health insurance markets in California, thereby limiting competitors from entering the markets.
"Competition, not consolidation, is the right prescription for California's health insurance markets and underscores what is ultimately at stake: the health and safety of the state's patients," Mr. Allen said.
Moreover, Mr. Allen noted although Anthem has said the merger will lower healthcare costs, it hasn't generated any evidence to support such a claim. Instead, the consolidation could result in higher premium costs, according to Mr. Allen.