The U.S. Justice Department will go to trial on Dec. 5th against health insurers Aetna Inc and Humana Inc to block a potential merger. The Justice Department argues that the merger between the two companies will decrease competition and limit consumer choices. It could also result in lower reimbursements for contracted dentists and healthcare providers. The case will be handled by U.S. District Judge John Bates and because of a tight deadline with the merger agreement; the case will expire at the end of the year.
A similar case has been filed from the Justice Department against a potential merger between Anthem Inc and Cigna Inc which has a deadline of April 30th. Both Aetna and Anthem requested a faster timeline for the trials. But because Anthem has a more flexible merger agreement, the trial has been reassigned to Judge Amy Berman Jackson and prolonged until 2017.
Sources:
1. www.bloomberg.com/news