TGIF

Yesterday, the U.S. Justice Department filed lawsuits in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia seeking to block the Anthem/Cigna and Aetna/Humana mergers on antitrust grounds. USA Today points out that healthcare provider groups are celebrating this action. Modern Healthcare observes that

Aetna and Anthem each released statements saying they intend to fight for their deals. But the Anthem-Cigna tie-up appears to be on its deathbed, with Cigna expressing doubt of an approval. “We do not believe the transaction will close in 2016, and the earliest it could close is 2017, if at all,” Cigna's statement reads. Cigna disclosed pessimism on the prospects of the deal in its first quarter regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. 

BNA has a story that clearly illustrates the convoluted nature of the ACA's employer shared responsibility mandate.  Business Insurance reports on a further proposed complication to the rules implementing that mandate.

Finally, Fierce Healthcare tells us about an interesting JAMA Internal Medicine study on the impact of generic drugs on the prescription drug market and Drug Channels considers that market in the context of the recent CMS projection.