Aetna Chief Financial Officer Shawn Guertin said the company feels confident in its case for its Humana merger, according to Louisville Business First.
Here are five takeaways:
1. Although the company feels confident in its position, Mr. Guertin said, "But you can only feel so good, though, when you're … potentially going to go to trial."
2. Both Humana and Aetna have said they will fight the Department of Justice for their deal to come to fruition.
3. Mr. Guertin said the insurance companies are currently preparing their defense and have plans to see the case through its completion.
4. The court date is scheduled for Dec. 5, 2016. However, a decision concerning the merger may not be likely until January 2017, leading the companies to consider extending its deadline again.
5. In August, Aetna reported it was not going through with expansion plans and indicated it may leave all Affordable Care Act insurance exchanges. The payer was hit by higher costs than anticipated, leading the payer to closely evaluate its presence in 15 ACA state exchanges. This year alone, Aetna had losses surpassing $300 million.
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