During the DOJ's antitrust trial against the Anthem, Cigna merger, an Anthem executive testified that the company plans to use Cigna as an avenue to compete in new markets, according to Bloomberg.
Here are five takeaways:
1. Morgan Kendrick, Anthem's president of national accounts, said Cigna will give Anthem a means to compete against Blue Cross & Blue Shield Association plans throughout the United States.
2. Anthem is a member of BCBS and therefore cannot currently vie for business against BCBS. However, if the acquisition comes to fruition, Anthem plans to use Cigna to "aggressively compete."
3. Ms. Kendrick provided the testimony on behalf of Anthem following the DOJ making its case against the merger, saying the deal would serve to both consumers' and providers' detriment.
4. During its case, DOJ's defense team said only a portion of larger payers can provide coverage to the nation's largest employers. However, Ms. Kendrick said large employers are seeking more options in both large carriers and regional and new payers. Anthem presented an economics expert, Lona Fowdur, who said that employers have other options aside from Anthem, Cigna, UnitedHealth Group and Aetna, thereby critiquing the DOJ's claim.
5. U.S. District Judge Amy Berman Jackson questioned Ms. Fowdur during her testimony, asking if smaller payers are realistically receiving a large chunk of business or losing out to the bigger insurance players like Anthem.