Two of the country’s largest health insurers on Tuesday called off their proposed merger after a judge blocked it last month on antitrust grounds.
Aetna and Humana are no longer seeking to merge, Aetna said Tuesday. Another larger insurance deal, between Anthem and Cigna, was also recently blocked by a judge in a string of defeats for insurers.
“While we continue to believe that a combined company would create greater value for health care consumers through improved affordability and quality, the current environment makes it too challenging to continue pursuing the transaction,” Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini said in a statement.
{mosads}A federal judge, John Bates, last month ruled that the merger of Aetna and Humana would unacceptably cut down competition in Medicare Advantage and in the ObamaCare marketplaces.
The ruling was a victory for consumer advocates who had opposed the merger as reducing competition and choices for consumers.