This week, Anthem asked Judge John Bates of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to fast-track its trial over its Cigna merger, according to The New York Times.
Here are five key notes:
1. Anthem also asked Judge Bates to make its case separate from the pending Aetna/Humana merger.
2. On July 21, the Justice Department filed lawsuits against the two megamergers, claiming they will harm consumers by stifling competition.
3. Anthem asked the court to make its decision on the deal by the end of 2016, as the payer wants the merger to close by April 30, 2017.
4. In Anthem's filings, the payer said if the deal doesn't go through by April 30, Cigna will terminate the deal the following day.
5. Anthem has maintained its deal with Cigna will allow the payers to negotiate better from those negotiations to the consumers.
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