Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Cigna, Express Scripts Close Merger, Contributing To Trend Of Insurers Teaming Up With Pharmacy Benefit Managers
Cigna Corp on Thursday closed its $54-billion (42.65 billion pounds) deal to buy Express Scripts Holding Co, creating one of the biggest providers of pharmacy benefits and insurance plans in the United States, a combination it says will help it improve healthcare coordination and cut costs. Cigna's deal puts it in direct competition with two other healthcare companies set up the same way - Aetna with CVS Health Corp and UnitedHealth Group Inc with Optum. Cigna's deal has already passed antitrust scrutiny. (Humer, 12/20)
The Cigna deal, which won an antitrust nod from the Justice Department without requiring divestitures, brings together a health insurer with a strong focus on employers with a major pharmacy-benefit manager. In an interview, Cigna Chief Executive David Cordani said an initial focus of the combined company will be on ensuring continued smooth business-as-usual operations, but it will begin rolling out new initiatives next year that seek to take advantage of the tie-up between medical and pharmacy oversight, including efforts focused on specialty pharmaceuticals and mental health. (Wilde Mathews, 12/20)
"Today's closing represents a major milestone in Cigna's drive to transform our healthcare system for our customers, clients, partners and communities," Cigna CEO David Cordani said in the announcement. "Together, we are establishing a blueprint for personalized, whole-person healthcare, further enhancing our ability to put the customer at the center of all we do by creating a flexible, open and connected model that improves affordability, choice and predictability." (Livingston, 12/20)
In other health industry news —
A group gaining influence in Washington as a champion for Medicare beneficiaries is bankrolled by major health insurance companies that are trying to cash in on private coverage offered through the federal health insurance program. The Better Medicare Alliance's multi-million dollar budget is supplied by UnitedHealthcare, Aetna and Humana. The three insurance giants account for close to 50 percent of all enrollees in private Medicare Advantage plans and stand to benefit as that part of Medicare keeps growing. (Alonso-Zaldivar and Lardner, 12/21)
