Roadblocks Imperil CVS-Aetna, Cigna–Express Scripts Deals

California formally urged the DOJ to block one blockbuster PBM deal, and a powerful investor came out against the other.

Two planned mergers involving some of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the country hit separate snags Wednesday that could derail the potentially industry-shifting proposals.

California Insurance Commissioner Dave Jones formally urged the U.S. Department of Justice to block CVS Health’s planned $69 billion purchase of Aetna on anti-competitive grounds, and news broke that activist investor Carl Icahn plans to vote against Cigna’s planned $54 billion purchase of Express Scripts.

The two separate developments threw cold water on the closely watched deals, which observers had said could dramatically change the healthcare industry.

CALIFORNIA’S CONCERNS

Although the verticality of the...