FOR RELEASE NOVEMBER 21, 2016
AS LAWSUIT GETS UNDERWAY, MAG & AMA REITERATE WHY ANTHEM-CIGNA MERGER WOULD BE ‘DISASTROUS’ FOR GEORGIA
ATLANTA — As a trial that is the result of a lawsuit that was filed by the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) and a bipartisan group of 12 state attorneys general (AG) to block the proposed Anthem-Cigna merger gets underway in the District of Columbia today, the Medical Association of Georgia (MAG) and the American Medical Association (AMA) are reiterating that the merger would undermine Georgia’s health care system in several important ways – including cost and quality and the accessibility of care.
"The Anthem-Cigna deal would reduce competition, and it would place physicians and their patients at an even greater disadvantage when it comes to the care they deliver and receive,” says MAG President Steven M. Walsh, M.D. “It is no surprise that more than 90 percent of the physicians who took a survey at MAG’s annual meeting in October agreed that this merger would have 'disastrous results.'"
Dr. Walsh credits and applauds DOJ and the state AGs for "demonstrating great leadership and joining forces to prevent this unprecedented deal."
AMA President Andrew W. Gurman, M.D., agrees, explaining that, "AMA believes the proposed merger amounts to a power grab that would quash competition in key health insurance markets in states like Georgia."
He points out that, "Having looked at the federal antitrust guidelines in depth, AMA determined that it is clear the merger would increase Anthem’s share of health insurance markets in Georgia to anticompetitive levels."
Dr. Gurman believes that, "We should be promoting greater competition – and not consolidation – in Georgia’s health insurance markets. Competition can lower premiums, enhance patient satisfaction, and spur innovative ways to improve quality while lowering costs. Patients benefit when they can choose from an array of insurers who compete for their business by offering desirable coverage at competitive prices."
Dr. Walsh is concerned that, "If Anthem gets its way, the company will have even fewer incentives to provide the kind of health insurance the people of Georgia have paid for and deserve, and it will be able to exercise control over clinical decisions – which undermines the patient-physician relationship and key safeguards of patient care."
And Dr. Walsh promises that, "MAG and AMA are going to continue to fight this deal in a strong and passionate way because our member physicians know that this could do irreparable harm to our health care system."
MAG has more than 7,800 members, which includes physicians in every specialty and practice setting in the state. Go to www.mag.org for additional information on MAG.
AMA is “dedicated to empowering the nation’s physicians to continually provide safer, higher quality, and more efficient care to patients and communities. Go to ama-assn.org for more information on AMA.
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