Will payer mergers stifle competition? Let us know (Poll)

Two major deals that would result in top commercial insurance companies merging into their competitors has roiled the leadership of the American Hospital Association.

With Anthem set to buy Cigna and Aetna buying Humana, AHA executives sent a letter last week to the Department of Justice's antitrust division over concerns that consolidation among those largest payers could spell disaster for competition.

"We believe the announced deals cited above have that potential and, therefore, merit the closest scrutiny to determine whether remedies, such as divestitures, have any chance of ameliorating the enduring damage they could do as a result of the loss of such significant competition," the group wrote in a letter to U.S. Assistant Attorney General William Baer.

[Also: Anthem to buy Cigna for $54 billion]
[Also: Aetna buys Humana for $37 billion]

In response, members of America's Health Insurance Plan, which represents the interests of commercial payers, posted a "fact check" on its website that shifted concerns back to the healthcare providers for driving up prices through their own wave of mergers and acquisitions.

"People living in highly consolidated hospital markets pay significantly higher premiums than residents in markets that have less provider consolidation, according to a recent data brief," the group wrote. "When providers consolidate and gain more market power, they have an incentive to demand higher prices, which in turn makes premiums and costs for patients even higher. Other studies have clearly demonstrated the link between provider consolidation and higher healthcare costs."

We're curious what you think. Answer our informal poll below and let us know where you stand on the payer-merger debate. We've also included the full text of the AHA letter below.

AHA's letter:

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