Anthem is still waiting for approval on the $8 billion Cigna acquisition, but new reports surfacing about internal squabbles could mean further delays, according to a report from The Wall Street Journal.
The Wall Street Journal reviewed several letters between the companies outline distrust and other potential issues going forward. Here are six things to know:
1. Anthem has a lawsuit against Express Scripts, which is a point of contention between Anthem and Cigna. Anthem is seeking $15 billion in damages after accusing Express Scripts of overcharging for drugs; Cigna chairman reportedly told the Anthem board this suit could hurt prospects for regulatory approval.
2. Anthem responded to Cigna’s concern about the Express Scripts lawsuit, saying the company disclosed the possibility of the suit early in the merger talks. Company spokespeople on both sides declined to comment on the dispute.
3. Cigna CEO David Cordani reportedly pushed back against Anthem’s offer to oversee some of the combined company’s three business segments, but Mr. Cordani wanted oversight over all three. Anthem has granted this request, according to the report.
4. There have been some senior-level departures from Anthem in the past several months, which has “unnerved” some at Cigna, according to the report.
5. There were some concerns outlined that the Aetna-Humana deal could go through the regulatory review process before the Anthem-Cigna deal, while some believe Anthem-Cigna could have better odds of approval if it’s reviewed alongside Aetna-Humana.
6. The letters from Anthem accuse Cigna of missing Justice Department deadlines and submitting wrongly formatted data while Cigna reported flaws in Anthem draft white papers.