Hillary Clinton raises concerns about healthcare mega-mergers

In a new statement released Wednesday, Hillary Clinton raised “serious concerns” about proposed mergers involving major health insurance companies Aetna and Humana, as well as Cigna and Anthem. The latter deal would combine two of New Hampshire’s largest insurers.

Clinton urged federal regulators to strictly scrutinize the proposed deals. She believes our health care system must put patients and consumers first, which is why she has proposed new measures to lower prescription drug costs and other out-of-pocket medical costs.

Below is the full statement from Hillary Clinton:

“As we see more consolidation in health care, among both providers and insurers, I’m worried that the balance of power is moving too far away from consumers.

“I have serious concerns about the proposed mergers between Anthem and Cigna, and between Aetna and Humana. One could raise market concentration in New Hampshire to excessive levels, and both have concerning effects on competition in other markets. These mergers should be scrutinized very closely with an eye to preventing the undue concentration that they appear to create. I am very skeptical of the claim that consumers will benefit from them because the evidence from careful studies shows that too often the companies end up pocketing profits rather than passing savings to consumers. These companies should commit to passing on savings and efficiencies to consumers as lower premiums and out-of-pocket costs.

“I strongly support delivery system reforms and care coordination that drive innovation, value and quality at an affordable cost for Americans and that improve transparency about prices – but companies proposing to merge bear the heavy burden of demonstrating that consumers will benefit. As president, I would strengthen the antitrust enforcement arms of the Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission and appoint aggressive regulators to take on troubling concentration wherever it occurs in the health care industry, among other sectors. That’s a pro-competition approach that is good for businesses large and small who want to compete on a level playing field and for consumers who should gain more choices.”