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A federal court judge on Wednesday approved a $ 70 billion merger between CVS Corp. and Aetna, after months of analysis of the antitrust settlement between the US Department of Justice and corporations.
Judge Richard Leon of the US District Court concluded in his opinion that "the proposed settlement is well within the" scope "of the public interest".
He further explained that, despite the fears of critics that the merger would reduce competition, "the CVS and government witnesses, when combined with the existing register, convincingly show why the markets in question are not only very competitive today, but will likely remain so post-merger. "
Judge Leon's investigation of the CVS and the settlement between Aetna and the Department of Justice, which included Aetna's agreement to transfer its Medicare prescription drug business to WellCare Health Plans, constituted the last hurdle in the process of company mergers.
Despite the judge's review, CVS and Aetna functioned as one and the same since the announcement of the merger's closing in November 2018.
In a joint statement, the two companies wrote that they were "a company since November 2018, and the measures taken today by the court of first instance specify it 100%".
The signature of Judge Leon was necessary to authorize the federal government to approve the CVS-Aetna merger under the Tunney Act, although it was unclear if he was able to interrupt it. . During the July pleadings, Leon indicated that he was willing to add to the agreement other terms and conditions beyond what the Department of Justice had requested, but he did not believe it. Finally did not do it.
In this Notice, Leon noted the "substantial concerns" of the merger critics, which included concerns about competition in the prescription drug and MBP market, while at the same time harming HIV-positive patients. and suffering from AIDS.
Critics such as the American Medical Association have argued that Aetna's divestiture of its Part D-related business would prevent the loss of competition in the prescription drug plan market because the buyer – WellCare – has entered into a contract with CVS for the management of pharmaceutical benefits and retail pharmacy services. The organization was concerned that CVS would prevent WellCare from using only its services.
But Leon said the critics did not persuade him that the concerns existed now or might develop later. Instead, he stated that CVS had clearly explained why the prescription drug plan market was already "very competitive" and why it was unlikely that CVS would increase its prices for PBM services or divert patients from their current health care providers.
In a statement, WADA's President, Dr. Patrice Harris, said the court's ruling "will fail patients, will likely increase prices, diminish quality, reduce choice, and curb innovation." ".
She continued: "For patients and employers struggling with recurring increases in health insurance premiums, overhead costs and prescription drug prices, it's hard to find a benefit to a merger that's hurting them. leave less choice. "
AMA urged regulators to monitor the conduct of the new company to ensure that it is not detrimental to patients.
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