"...To some extent these [large proposed health plan] mergers ...

... are with companies that are in different market segments, so Medicaid vs. exchanges vs. commercial vs. Medicare Advantage. And there it will potentially allow for a broader scope of services and economies of scale while still having significant competition within each of the market segments. And that is something I am sure the federal agencies are thinking about as they get beyond just that these are very large insurers as to what the consequences for pricing and market power are likely to be."

— Mark McClellan, M.D., Ph.D., a senior fellow and director of Health Care Innovation and Value Initiatives at The Brookings Institution, and a former CMS administrator under President George W. Bush, told AIS's Health Plan Week.