Late last week, the New York State Department of Financial Services (DFS) called for a hearing to discuss the consequences of a merger of the Anthem and Cigna health insurance companies. HCFANY applauds DFS for this action. HCFANY wrote to DFS in early March shortly after the potential merger was announced. In the letter, HCFANY urged the Department to carefully review this merger and hold a public hearing on how it affects competition in the state Marketplace, which ultimately impacts the costs of premiums and quality of care for consumers.

This merger would combine the second-largest and fourth-largest health insurers in the country and reduce the number of major health insurers in the U.S. from five to three. According to a recent article in Politico, this would mean that Anthem’s total market share would increase to 31 percent in New York State. In the New York Metropolitan area, Anthem would control almost 70 percent of the commercial self-insured market in three of the five boroughs. Increased market share would give Anthem the ability to dictate prices for providers and likely have a negative impact on access to health care for New York’s consumers.

If you would like to weigh in on the proposed Anthem-Cigna merger, there will be a public hearing held on Thursday, September 8 at 10:00 AM in New York City. If you are interested in testifying at the hearing, please write to DFS at New York State Department of Financial Services, Public Affairs Office – Anthem-Cigna Merger New York, NY 10004 OR e-mail public-hearings@dfs.ny.gov with the subject line: “ANTHEM-CIGNA 2016 HEARING.” Requests to testify must be received at least five business days prior to the hearing.