Florida Insurance Regulator Approves Aetna's Acquisition of Humana
February 15 2016 - 4:27PM
Dow Jones News
By Anna Wilde Mathews
Florida's insurance regulator approved Aetna Inc.'s acquisition
of Humana Inc., and required no divestitures, an important win for
the companies from a state that is a key market.
The $34 billion deal still needs to win approval from the
federal Justice Department's antitrust officials, likely the most
important hurdle, as well as other states. But Florida is a
cornerstone of Humana's Medicare franchise, so its review was
closely watched.
The Florida Office of Insurance Regulation did require that
Aetna expand operations into "underserved counties," after
concluding that the combination "would result in some increase in
the degree of concentration that would be viewed as meaningful in
markets and regions." Specifically, Aetna will need to expand its
sales of Affordable Care Act marketplace plans into five new
counties by 2018 and submit a plan to expand statewide by 2020, the
regulator said. However, the insurer only has to sell the ACA plans
in parts of the state where it can "secure a competitive position
based upon adequate premium rates, " among other factors, according
to the decision.
In a statement, Aetna said it was "very pleased" by the ruling,
and it has won 10 of 20 state approvals it needs. It said it is
cooperating with the federal review, and "it is possible that the
Department of Justice will require divestitures in some
geographies, which is a standard tool as part of its approval
processes."
Write to Anna Wilde Mathews at anna.mathews@wsj.com
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
February 15, 2016 17:12 ET (22:12 GMT)
Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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