A team of Insurance Department staff assigned to review and analyze the proposed merger of health insurance companies Anthem and Cigna is awaiting information it has requested from Anthem before it can proceed with requesting a formal public hearing, according to a public report the team filed last week.

Insurance Commissioner Roger Sevigny will ultimately decide whether to approve the merger in a formal review that is independent from any other state or federal review. State law dictates that the Insurance Commissioner “shall approve” a proposed merger unless he or she finds, after a public hearing, that the merger would create one or more of six specified conditions deemed harmful to the public or to the state’s insurance markets.

“To date, Anthem has made preliminary, and incomplete, responses to the Department’s Information Request,” the analysis team’s report states. “Accordingly, the statutory review timelines … are presently stayed, which is why the Analysis Team has not yet filed a request for a public hearing.”

The NH Insurance Department’s full press release can be found here. Contact your NEEBCo representative with any questions you may have.