In early December, Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia halted the integration of CVS Health and Aetna to consider anti-competitive concerns.
Today, Judge Leon granted AHF’s motion to participate as a friend of the court (amicus curiae) in the case to present its strong opposition to the proposed merger.
WASHINGTON (March 6, 2019) After a judge halted the merger of CVS Health and Aetna in early December, citing anti-competitive concerns, AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) applauded the judge and court for temporarily slowing the consolidation of the two health industry giants.
Today, AHF once again thanked Judge Richard Leon of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for granting AHF’s petition to participate as an amicus in the Aetna/CVS merger case—a consolidation which AHF vehemently opposes, because it would be particularly bad for HIV patients.
AHF strongly believes the merger would have serious negative consequences for HIV patients and others with chronic health conditions. “Allowing one company to control key points of the service spectrum – pharmacy, payor, and pharmacy benefits manager – interferes with patients’ control over their treatment, eliminates choice by reducing competition, and increases prices,” says Laura Boudreau, Chief of Operations/Risk Management and Quality Improvement.
AHF believes that state and federal regulators glossed over many red flags in granting approval for the merger last fall and thanked Judge Leon for putting the brakes on the deal to allow for the Court’s careful review of the anticompetitive aspects of the deal.
In November, AHF sharply criticized the merger of CVS Health and Aetna, (CVS-Aetna Merger Expected to Go Forward This Week After Securing Final Approval from New York Regulators,’ Kaiser Health News 11/27/18), noting that it would be particularly bad for HIV/AIDS patients and other individuals with chronic health conditions. In October, at a hearing held by New York regulators on the CVS-Aetna merger, AHF expressed its objections to the merger. AHF also sent a letter in November outlining five (5) specific areas of concern to the merger to the New Jersey Department of Banking and Insurance’s Office of Solvency Regulation.
About AIDS Healthcare Foundation
AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), the largest global AIDS organization, currently provides medical care and/or services to more than one-million individuals in 42 countries worldwide in the US, Africa, Latin America/Caribbean, the Asia/Pacific Region and Eastern Europe. To learn more about AHF, please visit our website: www.aidshealth.org, find us on Facebook: www.facebook.com/aidshealth and follow us on Twitter: @aidshealthcare.
