Hillary Clinton Voices Her Concerns about Merger Mania in Healthcare

Hillary Clinton is raising criticism on proposed mergers of the nation’s largest healthcare companies. The deals between Anthem and Cigna and between Aetna and Humana are still under review by the Department of Justice for the next year or so. Clinton has serious concerns about the pending mergers saying that customers would not benefit in any way, at least not in the way that these companies have said that they would.

The top health insurance lobbying group, America’s Health Insurance Plans, quickly came back with a statement, arguing that the plans are already existing in “one of the most competitive and highly regulated environments in the country.” Republicans, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), have blamed Obamacare for planned mergers, pointing to the outpouring of new regulations they say make it tougher for smaller companies to survive.

The RNC called it hypocritical for Clinton to single out insurance companies while backing the healthcare law overall and questioned if she is trying to have it both ways. Clinton however says that, "As we see more consolidation in healthcare, among both providers and insurers, I’m worried that the balance of power is moving too far away from consumers,” which should be the main concern of any politician in the thick of this merger mania. 

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