Anthem loses appeal of antitrust ruling against proposed Cigna merger

A federal appeals court has denied Anthem’s attempt to challenge a judge’s ruling that its proposed acquisition of Cigna violates antitrust law. In a 2-1 decision issued in April, a panel of judges upheld Judge Amy Berman Jackson’s decision to enjoin the $54 billion merger. In their written opinion, the panel said Anthem failed to demonstrate that the deal could achieve the “extraordinary efficiencies” necessary to offset the effect of losing Cigna as a competitor in the already highly concentrated markets where it sells employer-based plans to national accounts.