U.S. District Judge John D. Bates of the District of Columbia ordered the Anthem-Cigna merger case be reassigned to another judge, according to Business Insurance.
Here are five points:
1. The judge will stay on the Aetna-Humana case.
2. Judge Bates was initially assigned to both antitrust cases in July, but the judge said there is not sufficient time to try both merger cases by the end of 2016.
3. Last week, the payers sought expedited and separate trials which would conclude by the end of this year.
4. However, the U.S. government claimed the trials should begin in February 2017 and should not go through an expedited process.
5. On July 21, the Justice Department filed lawsuits against the two megamergers, claiming they will harm consumers by stifling competition.
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