Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine on Thursday announced that his office has joined the U.S. Department of Justice and eight other attorneys general in challenging Aetna’s proposed acquisition of Humana.
Here is the press release:
“Our goal is to protect Ohio’s families, hospitals, and healthcare providers,” Attorney General DeWine said. “We studied the proposed merger carefully to review the likely impact it would have on Ohio. Ultimately, after a thorough review, we determined that this challenge was necessary.”
Aetna and Humana are two of the nation’s five largest health insurers. In the lawsuit challenging the proposed combination, the Department of Justice and attorneys general allege that the $37 billion merger would lead to higher health insurance prices, reduced benefits, less innovation, and worse service for over a million Americans.
The complaint alleges that the merger could substantially reduce competition for the sale of Medicare Advantage plans in numerous counties throughout the U.S., including the Ohio counties of Brown, Butler, Clermont, Columbiana, Delaware, Franklin, Hamilton, Hancock, Jefferson, Marion, Meigs, Muskingum, and Seneca.