Guidelines Offer Little Clarity on Future of Vertical Deals

July 13

On June 30, the Trump administration released the first major update to regulators’ guidance on vertical mergers and acquisitions since 1984. The document from the Federal Trade Commission and Dept. of Justice (DOJ) has already drawn controversy, as two FTC officials issued dissenting statements arguing the guidelines aren’t critical enough of deals that consolidate multiple parts of a supply chain.

However, health care and legal experts aren’t convinced that the new guidelines will provide much more assistance to firms hoping to execute vertical transactions akin to insurer Cigna Corp. buying PBM Express Scripts, pharmacy giant CVS Health Corp. buying insurer Aetna, or UnitedHealth Group — which already owns an insurer and a PBM — purchasing a bevy of care-delivery assets.

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Health Plan Weekly

Leslie Small

Leslie has been working in journalism since 2009 and reporting on the health care industry since 2014. She has covered the many ups and downs of the Affordable Care Act exchanges, the failed health insurer mega-mergers, and hundreds of other storylines spanning subjects such as Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, employer-sponsored insurance, and prescription drug coverage. As the managing editor of Health Plan Weekly and Radar on Drug Benefits, she writes and edits for both publications while overseeing a small team of reporters who also focus on the managed care sector. Before joining AIS Health, she was a senior editor for the e-newsletter Fierce Health Payer, and she started her career as a copy editor at multiple local newspapers. She graduated with a dual degree in journalism and political science from Penn State University.

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