Here’s what you should know.
1. The testimony on Dec. 9, 2016 was centered on whether traditional Medicare competes with Medicare Advantage and whether Aetna pulled out of ACA exchanges in anger after the Department of Justice filed an antitrust lawsuit against Aetna’s merger with Cigna.
2. Mr. Bertolini denied pulling out of the ACA exchanges in response to the antitrust case brought against his company, instead attributing the decision to financial loss.
Mr. Bertolini had sent a letter in July 2016 stating if the DOJ would sue to stop the merger, Aetna would pull out of the ACA exchanges. He said the letter was not a threat but a “response” to questions from the DOJ.
3. If U.S. District Court Judge John Bates believes sufficient competition exists between the two types of Medicare programs, it’s believed the deal will go forward.
4. The DOJ argued the two types of Medicare do not compete.
5. Reuters believes the Aetna-Humana and Anthem-Cigna antitrust cases will conclude before President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.
6. Judge Bates plans to make his decision by mid- to late-January.
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