Washington, D.C. — In response to news of merger talks between health insurance giants Cigna and Humana, the American Economic Liberties Project released the following statement.

“This mega-merger would doom the U.S. healthcare system to be essentially run by a cartel of three profit-seeking corporations: UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health, and Cigna-Humana,” said Sara Sirota, Policy Analyst at the American Economic Liberties Project. “The combination of Cigna’s commercial health insurance, pharmacy benefit management, and medical services divisions with Humana’s Medicare Advantage and healthcare delivery holdings would create another closed loop where they can overcharge patients and other payers, diminish the quality of care, and drive independent providers out of business without facing any pressure. We hope the parties decide to not agree to this deal. But if they do, antitrust enforcers should follow the decisions of the federal courts that rightly blocked the multibillion dollar Cigna-Anthem and Humana-Aetna deals in 2017 and stop the outrageous consolidation of market power that would result from a Cigna-Humana merger. Enforcers should further unwind and restrain these companies’ existing conflicts and control over nearly every sect of the U.S. healthcare system.”

Today, Cigna owns one of the largest commercial health insurance providers, the second-largest pharmacy benefit manager, the third largest pharmacy, and a growing medical services division called Evernorth, with holdings in primary care and virtual care. Humana is the second-largest Medicare Advantage provider, one of the biggest pharmacies, and has similarly expanded into medical services with home health and virtual care options. Cigna is reportedly exploring a sale of its Medicare Advantage business, while Humana announced earlier this year it was exiting the commercial health plan market. Nevertheless, the two companies control a diversity of services that raise concerns about the kinds of vertical integration and anti-competitive behavior that the Biden Administration is directly targeting under the Federal Trade Commission and Department of Justice’s proposed merger guidelines.

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The American Economic Liberties Project works to ensure America’s system of commerce is structured to advance, rather than undermine, economic liberty, fair commerce, and a secure, inclusive democracy. Economic Liberties believes true economic liberty means entrepreneurs and businesses large and small succeed on the merits of their ideas and hard work; commerce empowers consumers, workers, farmers, and engineers instead of subjecting them to discrimination and abuse from financiers and monopolists; foreign trade arrangements support domestic security and democracy; and wealth is broadly distributed to support equitable political power.