DENVER BUSINESS JOURNAL - A federal judge has blocked health insurer Anthem Inc.’s $54 billion acquisition of rival insurer Cigna Corp. in response to a challenge filed by Colorado Attorney General Cynthia Coffman along with 10 other states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. Justice Department. The merger would have worsened an already highly concentrated market and is likely to raise prices, Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said while issuing the ruling against Anthem’s deal. Anthem, the largest member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, has said it is not truly a national insurance company because it is only in 14 states. The U.S. Justice Department sued in July to stop Anthem’s purchase of Cigna, a deal that would have created the largest U.S. health insurer by membership, and Aetna Inc’s AET.N planned $33 billion acquisition of Humana (HUM.N).
The U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia blocks health insurer Anthem Inc.'s proposed $54 billion merger with rival Cigna because it would have exacerbated an already highly concentrated market and likely raised prices.