WASHINGTON—Today, Senators Mike Lee (R-UT) and Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), the chairman and ranking member of the Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy, and Consumer Rights, released the following statements on the Department of Justice’s announcement on the Aetna/Humana and Anthem/Cigna transactions.

“Last September we held a hearing to explore proposed mergers between four of the nation’s five largest health insurance companies: the Aetna-Humana merger and the Anthem-Cigna merger,” said Lee. “We examined whether reducing the so-called “Big Five” in health insurance providers to the “Big Three” could result in market concentration harmful to consumers. The Justice Department has reached its decision, but we will continue to exercise oversight as the cases proceed.”

“The proposed merger of four of the five largest health insurance companies deserves close scrutiny, and as I said in the hearing we held last fall, cost-effective insurance is critical for Americans to have access to affordable, quality health care,” said Klobuchar. “I applaud the Department of Justice’s aggressive defense of competition, which is the best medicine to control health insurance premiums and improve quality.”