This Aug 4, 2011, file photo shows the Cigna logo at the headquarters of the health insurer Cigna Corp. in Philadelphia. 
FILE – This Feb. 5, 2015 file photo shows the Anthem logo at the health insurer’s corporate headquarters in Indianapolis. Anthem on Monday, June 22, 2015 reaffirmed their commitment to buy rival Cigna a day after Cigna shot down the idea in a letter delivered to Anthems board. (AP Photo/Michael Conroy, File)Attorney General Herbert Slatery announced today that Tennessee has joined the U.S. Department of Justice and attorneys general from 10 other states in a court challenging opposing a merger between health insurance giants Anthem and Cigna.
The suit charges a merge would increase concentration in the industry and harm competition in Tennessee and across the country, ultimately impacting services and prices.
The Justice Department and state attorneys general filed the merger challenge in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Georgia is among states filing. The District of Columbia government has joined as well.
Their filing alleges the $54 billion merger would harm seniors, working families and individuals as well as employers, doctors and other healthcare providers by limiting price competition, reducing benefits, decreasing incentives to provide innovative wellness programs and lowering quality of care.
“In what instance would Tennesseans want 4 instead of 5 competitors from which to choose insurance products or negotiate services?” Slatery said in a news release. “That is the question raised by the merger, whether one is a national employer comparing benefits and premiums, a health care provider like a hospital or physician practice, or an individual selecting a policy on an exchange.”