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The chief executives of two of the nation’s largest health insurance companies told skeptical senators on Tuesday that consumers would benefit if the federal government approved their plans to acquire two other big insurers. But Consumers Union, a consumer advocacy group, expressed doubts about the deals, and Senator Richard Blumenthal, Democrat of Connecticut, objected to the mergers, saying they could cause harm by reducing competition. (Pear, 9/22)

The chief executives of Aetna Inc. and Anthem Inc. defended their merger deals before a Senate subcommittee, facing sharply critical testimony that raised questions about the impact of health-insurance consolidation. Aetna is seeking to acquire Humana Inc., in a $34 billion transaction focused largely on the private Medicare plans known as Medicare Advantage. Anthem aims to take over Cigna Corp. in a $48 billion deal. The two deals together would shrink the top five U.S. health insurers to a big three, each with annual revenue of more than $100 billion. The third player would be UnitedHealth Group Inc. (Wilde Mathews and Kendall, 9/22)

Proposed mega-mergers between health insurance giants prompted by the Affordable Care Act won’t harm the level of competition in the market, two chief executives pledged Tuesday to skeptical lawmakers. The recent plans by Aetna Inc. to acquire Humana Inc., and by Anthem Inc. to buy Cigna Corp., have raised concerns over the economic impact that such mergers, which would eliminate two of the five largest insurers to create three companies, would have on consumers. The Justice Department is investigating the deals. (Howard, 9/22)

Leaders of two major health insurers planning multibillion dollar acquisitions made their case to Congress that bigger can mean better in their industry, but concerns are being raised in Washington about how these deals will affect consumers and competition. Blue Cross-Blue Shield insurer Anthem plans to buy Cigna for $48 billion, and rival Aetna is looking to acquire Medicare Advantage coverage provider Humana for about $35 billion in a wave of consolidation that swept through the industry this summer. The deals came under scrutiny Tuesday at a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing. (9/22)

Skeptical members of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday questioned Aetna CEO Mark Bertolini and Anthem CEO Joseph Swedish about their plans to merge with other large insurers, citing concerns about the consolidation’s impact on consumers. (Radelat, 9/22)

Republican and Democratic lawmakers expressed concern about two multi-billion dollar insurance mergers on Tuesday, using a Senate hearing to take issue with the companies' arguments that they face expanding competition from new rivals. Senator Mike Lee, a Republican from Utah who chairs the Senate Judiciary Committee's antitrust subcommittee, said he was worried that consumers would be "locked into the offerings of a few dominant companies." (Bartz, 9/22)