Health Insurers Remain Hungry for Deals, But Headwinds Await

Although executing mergers and acquisitions (M&A) is an important part of health insurers’ growth toolkit, industry insiders tell AIS Health, a division of MMIT, that companies could face challenges completing deals in 2024 due to factors such as high interest rates and government intervention.  

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Department of Justice (DOJ) last month finalized updated merger guidelines for the first time since 2020. The FTC and DOJ noted the guidelines “are not themselves legally binding, but provide transparency into the Agencies’ decision-making process.” 

Law firm Morgan Lewis wrote in a Dec. 21 brief that the FTC and DOJ are “dramatically expanding the number and type of transactions that the agencies will consider presumptively unlawful,” although the authors noted that the agencies have both “lost several merger cases in the last few years.”