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The deal, combining the second- and fifth-largest health insurers by revenue, would create a company with a huge footprint in commercial insurance, the type of coverage provided to employers and consumers. ...The biggest companies are seeking more cost efficiency and scale as the health-care landscape changes because of the Affordable Care Act and other factors. Of the current major health insurers, only UnitedHealth Group Inc., the largest by revenue, has so far sat out the merger wave. (Wilde Mathews and Hoffman, 7/24)

The health care overhaul law has reshaped the health insurance business, and one consequence is more than $100 billion in mergers and acquisitions over the last few years. Anthem Inc.'s purchase of Cigna Corp. and Aetna Inc.'s acquisition of Humana Inc., both announced this month, are worth more than $80 billion combined. The companies snapped up competitors in smaller, but still hefty, deals for years before that. (6/24)

Can the insurance mergers keep going? After the deal announced Thursday night, in which Japan’s Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. agreed to pay about $5 billion for StanCorp Financial Group Inc., analysts seem to think more transactions are inevitable. (Scism, 6/24)

The fate of Anthem Inc.’s proposed takeover of Cigna Corp. is now linked with that of Aetna Inc.’s bid for Humana Inc. as antitrust officials vow to scrutinize the industry as a whole amid the frenzy of dealmaking. The $48.4 billion purchase of Cigna announced Friday would cut the number of major health insurers to three from five, making it challenging for Anthem and its rivals to win approval from the Justice Department, antitrust experts say. (McLaughlin, 7/24)

Anthem Inc's decision to buy Cigna Corp, forming the largest U.S. health insurer by membership, will likely speed consolidation across the healthcare industry, from hospitals to drugmakers. Anthem announced its proposed $54 billion purchase of Cigna on Friday, just weeks after Aetna Inc said it would buy rival Humana Inc for $37 billion. If both transactions are approved by regulators, the industry will go from five major national players to three. (Beasley and Gumpert, 7/24)

Anthem and Cigna are the latest big American health insurers to propose a blockbuster merger. They and their peers need to satisfy many regulators, though, before the deals are approved. Here’s a look at the agencies and the deals that officials may be asked to swallow in an already concentrated industry. (Cyran, 7/24)

The last big domino has fallen in the wave of deals that has reshaped the health insurance industry in a few brief weeks. Anthem’s deal to purchase Cigna for $54 billion, announced Friday morning, will create the largest health insurance company in the country. The insurance behemoth will have $115 billion in revenues and 53 million members — 17 percent of the entire U.S. population. (Demko, 7/24)

Health insurer Anthem's $54 billion deal to acquire Cigna could help keep health care costs from continuing to rise, as the insurers will have more negotiating leverage with doctors and hospitals, but the effect on employers remains unclear, say health care experts. (O'Donnell, 7/24)

Anthem Inc., California's largest for-profit health insurer, has agreed to acquire rival Cigna Corp. for $54 billion. The planned merger is the latest in a string of health insurance deals announced in the last few weeks. Aetna Inc. reached a $37-billion deal for Humana Inc. this month. And Woodland Hills insurer Health Net Inc. agreed to be acquired by Medicaid insurer Centene Corp. for $6.8 billion. (Masunaga and Terhune, 7/24)

The announcement Friday that Anthem Inc. plans to buy Bloomfield-based Cigna Corp. comes amid a period of rapid consolidation in the health care industry that some observers have likened to an arms race. Hospitals – seeking, among other things, greater leverage in negotiating with insurers – have increasingly been joining larger systems, while the insurance industry – already concentrated in many states – is poised to undergo even more consolidation. Where does that leave consumers? (Levin Becker, 7/24)

HMO giant Kaiser Permanente might lose its perch atop California's health insurance world. Anthem Inc. could leapfrog Kaiser and become the state's biggest health plan if its $54-billion acquisition of Cigna Corp. goes through next year. The deal was announced Friday. (Terhune, 7/24)

Anthem’s agreement to buy Cigna for $48 billion, if consummated, would cement the dominant position of Georgia’s leading health insurer. The insurer deal, announced Friday, follows the merger agreement announced earlier this month between two other insurance heavyweights, Aetna and Humana. And both fit into the picture of fast-paced consolidation across the health care industry, partly driven by changes from the Affordable Care Act. (Miller, 7/24)