Aetna's $37B Humana Deal Expands Role In Medicare's Value-Based Care Push

Following weeks of speculation, Aetna (AET) made it official this morning, agreeing to buy rival Humana (HUM) for $37 billion as merger-mania sweeps the health insurance industry.

For now, the deal appears to put the two insurers into the top three health plans in the U.S. with more than 33 million medical members and will increase Aetna’s Medicare Advantage membership to 4.4 million. UnitedHealth Group (UNH) remains the nation’s largest health insurance company with Anthem (ANTM) at No. 2 though both have had discussions with smaller plans about merging and Anthem has made several recent overtures to Cigna (CI).

“The complementary combination brings together Humana’s growing Medicare Advantage business with Aetna’s diversified portfolio and commercial capabilities to create a company serving the most seniors in the Medicare Advantage program and the second-largest,” the two companies said in a joint statement.