12 pages. "[T]he merger will be enjoined due to its likely impact on the market for the sale of health insurance to 'national accounts' ... within the fourteen states where Anthem operates as the Blue Cross Blue Shield licensee.... [P]laintiffs have established that the high level of concentration in this market that would result from the merger is presumptively unlawful under the U.S. Department of Justice and Federal Trade Commission Horizontal Merger Guidelines ... The evidence has also shown that the merger is likely to result in higher prices, and that it will have other anticompetitive effects: it will eliminate the two firms' vigorous competition against each other for national accounts, reduce the number of national carriers available to respond to solicitations in the future, and diminish the prospects for innovation in the market." [U.S. v. Anthem, No. 16-1493 (D. D.C. Feb. 8, 2017)]

MORE >>