We were surprised to learn this week that the Ohio Department of Insurance (ODI) secretly approved the merger between Aetna and Humana health insurance companies back on May 10, 2016. Today, we issued a press release criticizing ODI for the lack of transparency in this decision.  

We know that affordability of health coverage is a top concern for Ohio consumers. That’s why we sent a letter to the Ohio Department of Insurance back in February with our concerns about the proposed merger between Aetna and Humana health insurance companies. In the letter, we expressed our concerns, including that the merger would:

• reduce competition and therefore raise health insurance costs;
• reduce reasonable access to a sufficient number of in-network doctors, known as network adequacy; and
• make it more difficult for new insurance companies to join the Health Insurance Marketplace.

ODI, in its 1 ½ page decision paper, buried deep on its website, did not respond to any of the concerns we raised.

In contrast, when Missouri Department of Insurance was faced with a similar decision, they held public hearings and issued a well thought-out decision, ruling against the merger. Missouri ruled against the merger because it would result in fewer companies serving more people (sometimes referred to as “market concentration”). Ohio’s market concentration is similar to Missouri, yet ODI provided no response on the harm to competition.

Ohio’s Insurance Commissioner could have examined different protections that could have been imposed on the merging insurers to protect Ohio consumers. These protections weren’t considered either.

At UHCAN Ohio, we believe that Ohioans deserve transparency on a decision of this magnitude that will affect so many lives. If you or someone you know has Humana or Aetna insurance through the Marketplace or through a Medicare Advantage plan, please let us know if this merger affects you.