Consumers Could Have Fewer Options If Large Insurers Merge

The Wall Street Journal: Health Mergers Could Cut Consumer Options
The nation’s biggest health insurers, which are pursuing a series of potential megamergers, have market overlaps that could damp competition in sectors such as private Medicare plans, an analysis of state and federal data by The Wall Street Journal has found. The board of Cigna Corp. on Sunday rejected a $47.5 billion bid from Anthem Inc. that was disclosed on Saturday. Aetna Inc. has made an offer for Humana Inc. in recent days. Those deals, if completed, would shrink the current top five insurers to a powerful big three, each with revenue on paper of more than $100 billion. Meantime, the largest player by revenue, UnitedHealth Group Inc., has recently made a takeover approach to Aetna. (Wilde Mathews and Weaver, 6/21)

Here's a local look at how that impact could play out -

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch: Health Insurance Companies Look To Consolidate And Boost Leverage
Rumors have been swirling for the past few weeks: Some of the nation’s largest health insurance giants are looking to buy their rivals. No deals have been announced, but many analysts and policy experts agree that there likely will be fewer companies offering health insurance in the not-too-distant future. But is less competition a bad thing? It depends on whom you ask. (Shapiro and Liss, 6/21)

Analysts also speculate about what's to become of the health sector stock surge -

The Wall Street Journal: Investors Debate The End Of The Health-Care Stock Surge
The thriving health-care sector is starting to look too rich for some investors’ taste. Health-care companies in the S&P 500, ranging from health insurers to medical-device makers to biotechnology firms, have risen 26% in the past year. That is the largest increase among S&P 500 sectors and more than three times the 7.7% gain in the S&P 500 in the same period. (Vaishampayan, 6/21)