A U.S. District Court judge said the merger would hurt competition for consumers, particularly for seniors who purchase Medicare Advantage plans and Americans who buy coverage under the Affordable Care Act on public exchanges. Aetna last week said it may appeal the ruling, arguing the Medicare Advantage market is growing and has ample competition. For example, Humana's Medicare Advantage business looks to recover from poor quality ratings from the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services. Medicare Advantage is an important business for Humana and a key reason Aetna wanted to acquire the company in the first place. CMS rates Medicare Advantage plans on a five-star scale on certain quality and performance measures to help guide seniors to better choices.

Source: Forbes February 08, 2017 14:49 UTC