Sitting in the dark before 6 am in my Los Angeles house with my face lit up by yet another Zoom screen, wearing a stylish combination of sweatpants, dress shirt and last year’s JPM conference badge dangling around my neck for...more
We’ve talked a fair amount about the switch to chip & pin card systems over the past few years. But how about a lack of cards altogether? Because that’s what the banks have in mind....more
The District of Columbia federal court recently ruled that a proposed $37 billion merger between health insurance giants Aetna and Humana cannot proceed, granting the US Department of Justice’s bid to block the combination on...more
While the election of Donald Trump as the nation's next president is clearly the biggest news in Washington over the last two months, for the insurance industry, big news has also been made at the federal district courthouse....more
In late July, the DOJ Antitrust Division filed actions in federal district court seeking to derail both the Anthem/Cigna and Aetna/Humana mergers. In each case, the DOJ contended that consumers would face higher insurance...more
Following more than a year of regulatory review, in late July 2016 the Department of Justice (DOJ) Antitrust Division and a number of states filed actions seeking to derail both the Anthem/Cigna and Aetna/Humana mergers. In...more
Liability insurers have always gnashed teeth over the dreaded “super lien” – aka a lien asserted by Medicare for treatment expenses where the patient is reimbursed through a settlement obtained in personal injury litigation....more
Humana Medical Plan, Inc. v. Western Heritage Insurance Co., case number 15-11436. Liability insurers beware, as the 11th Circuit held that Medicare Advantage Organizations (MAO) are entitled to the same rights...more
In July 2015, health insurer mergers were announced between Anthem and Cigna and between Aetna and Humana. The effect of these mergers would elevate Anthem/Cigna to the #1 rank in size among national health insurers. ...more
Last week, the United States Department of Justice’s Antitrust Section (DOJ) filed suit to enjoin two proposed mergers that would consolidate the nation’s five largest insurance companies into three. The DOJ argues that if...more
Consolidation in health insurance markets can injure hospitals and doctors by creating buyer-side market power that can force providers to accept below-market prices, limit patients’ access to care, and reduce innovation in...more
While the Department of Justice Antitrust Division is responsible for reviewing the proposed Anthem/Cigna and Aetna/Humana mergers for any potential competitive concerns, Congress jumped into the process with both feet in...more
In the wake of Anthem’s proposed acquisition of Cigna and Aetna’s proposed acquisition of Humana, providers are lining up to be heard. Take the American Medical Association (AMA), for example, which is urging federal and...more
In the last few months, several of the largest commercial health insurers in the nation have announced their intentions to merge. First, Aetna (currently the nation’s third largest health insurer by revenue) announced its...more
A recent flurry of activity in the health insurance industry would seem to indicate that investors can expect significant consolidation in the managed care sector....more
When one big industry sues another we learn a lot about how business as usual is conducted. In this case Humana, a giant health insurer, has sued the medical device company Medtronic, maker of the Infuse bone graft. ...more