Cigna Group has reinitiated discussions with Humana regarding a potential merger, following the collapse of their discussions last year.

According to a Bloomberg News report, which cited sources privy to the development, the talks are in the preliminary stages and no decisions have been made.

In December last year, Cigna abandoned its plans to merge with Humana due to disagreements over financial terms.

A merger of the US health insurance giants would create an industry leader valued at nearly $140bn.

The latest discussions come as the federal government pressures Humana to control Medicare costs, impacting its finances and market value. An agreement would likely be among the top five health insurance deals, according to Bloomberg data.

Cigna plans to finalise the sale of its Medicare Advantage business soon, which could ease antitrust concerns in a potential deal with Humana by eliminating overlapping services.

Cigna, known for its employer-sponsored healthcare plans, is in the process of divesting its Medicare Advantage business, having agreed to a $3.3bn deal with Health Care Service earlier this year.

On the other hand, Humana has faced a challenging year, with its value dropping nearly 40% due to various factors including declining enrolments in its Medicare plans and increased medical costs.

For the year ending 31 December 2023, Cigna reported a net income of $5.16bn, a 22% decline from $6.7bn in the previous year.

"Cigna and Humana re-engage in merger talks" was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand.

 

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