Aetna Buys Humana

Friday, July 3rd, the latest major merger (and the largest-ever deal in the health insurance industry) in the increasingly frantic health care marketplace took place. Aetna bought Humana for $37 billion in cash and stock, $230 per share. This merger will reduce the number of big U.S. health insurers from five to three, and the combined company could become the nation’s number two health insurer, behind UnitedHealth Group.

Humana will continue to operate as usual throughout the process. Consumers should experience no changes in how Humana works. Both companies will continue to operate independently until the transaction is complete. The announcement is just the beginning. The closing of the transaction is not expected to occur until the second half of 2016.

Overtime as Aetna and Humana merge, they expect the combination to result in better consumer experiences, more affordable, quality healthcare, and better clinical outcomes.

Shawn M. Guertin, Aetna’s executive Vice President and CFO said in a statement, “The complementary nature of our two companies provides us with a significant synergy opportunity, furthering Aetna’s efforts to increase its operating efficiency. These cost efficiencies will support our efforts to drive costs out of the system and offer more affordable products.”

The merger will take place over a long period of time, thus for now there will be no changes to those who have Humana. If you have any questions about this situation, feel free to call our office at (865) 777-0153.

Senior Financial Group understands that Medicare can seem so complicated, which is why we are here to make it easy. Please use us as a resource for any of your health insurance concerns. We’d love to help!