New York, NY - April 28, 2017 - Attorney General Eric T. Schneiderman released the following statement on the decision by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit to deny Anthem, Inc.’s appeal of the D.C. District Court’s decision to enjoin Anthem’s proposed acquisition of Cigna Corp.:
“Today’s decision is a win for consumers in New York and across the country. We are very pleased that the Court of Appeals agreed with the District Court’s finding that this merger would violate antitrust laws by substantially lessening competition in commercial health insurance markets, likely leading to increased health insurance premiums and reduced quality and innovation. I again thank my federal and state partners for their work to protect patients and ensure that competition in the health insurance industry remains vibrant across the country.”
On July 21, 2016, Attorney General Schneiderman, the Department of Justice, ten other states, and the District of Columbia filed a joint lawsuit, which sought a court order to block the merger between the two companies, arguing that it would substantially lessen competition in the sale of commercial health insurance both nationally and in various local markets, including New York. On November 21, 2016, the plaintiffs proceeded to trial against Anthem and Cigna before U.S. District Court Judge Amy Berman Jackson of the D.C. District Court. Judge Jackson issued her opinion and order enjoining the proposed merger on February 8, 2017.
The case is captioned United States et al. v. Anthem Inc. and Cigna Corp., and is docketed with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia under Civil Action Nos. 17- 5024 (L), 17-5028 (Con.).
The case was handled by Assistant Attorney General Irina C. Rodríguez of the Antitrust Bureau under the supervision of Bureau Chief Beau W. Buffier and Deputy Bureau Chief Elinor R. Hoffmann. The Antitrust Bureau is part of the Division of Economic Justice, led by Executive Deputy Attorney General for Economic Justice Manisha M. Sheth.