Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Doctors Group Critical Of Proposed Health Insurer Mergers
The New York Times: Doctors’ Association Sees Harm In Insurance Mergers
In a new study to be released on Tuesday, the American Medical Association says that most insurance markets in the United States are dominated by a few companies and would become even more concentrated with a plan by Anthem to acquire Cigna and a proposal by Aetna to buy Humana. The American Hospital Association raised similar concerns last week in a letter to the Justice Department that said the proposed Aetna-Humana deal “threatens serious and widespread competitive harm” to Medicare beneficiaries because it would reduce options in the market for private Medicare Advantage plans. (Pear, 9/8)
USA Today: Aetna CEO Got Summer's First Merger Agreement, Raised Minimum Wage And More
The CEO who pulled off the first major insurance company merger agreement of the summer also achieved what many executives might think impossible: He raised his company's minimum wage, announced plans to up its contribution to workers' health care and watched the stock soar by nearly 30% since January. But Aetna's Mark Bertolini is used to defying expectations. (O'Donnell, 9/7)
