A New Jersey lawmaker asked the chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce to hold hearings on Cigna's potential takeover of Express Scripts and CVS Health's bid for Aetna.
In a March 14 letter, Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J, said a recently announced $67 billion Cigna-Express Scripts tie-up is the latest attempt at consolidation in the healthcare industry. In his argument for why a hearing should be held, he referenced a recent hearing on CVS Health's $69 billion bid for Aetna. During the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations hearing, witnesses expressed concern over how the mega-merger would affect consumers.
Mr. Pallone said of the recent mega-mergers announced, Cigna and Express Scripts would merge the largest pharmacy benefit manager in the nation with one of America's biggest insurers.
"The Committee has an ongoing responsibility to evaluate and consider these changes to our healthcare system, so as to better understand the impact of these changes on consumers, patients and providers," he wrote. "Due to the scale of the proposed Cigna-Express Scripts and CVS-Aetna deals, these changes should be thoroughly scrutinized and understood by the members of this Committee."
Mr. Pallone requested hearings for both combinations as soon as possible.
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