Anthem To File a Petition With The Supreme Court Regarding Cigna Acquisition

Anthem Inc. confirmed that it's filing a petition with the U.S. Supreme Court to review a decision, called a writ of certiorari, regarding the acquisition of Cigna Corp. Anthem is asking that the Supreme Court take another look at a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit's majority that it says would limit access to high-quality affordable medical care for millions of Americans. The decision would also deny those Americans more than $2 billion in medical cost savings each year, according to Anthem. "Citing the circuit split over the consideration of efficiencies in merger analysis, Anthem urges that 1960s-era merger precedents relied upon by the courts below must be updated to reflect the modern understanding of economics and consumer benefit," Anthem said in a statement. Anthem shares are unchanged in premarket trading, but up more than 15% for the year to date. Cigna shares are also unchanged in premarket, but up 17.5% for 2017 so far. The S&P 500 index is up 6.7% so far in 2017.