Health Insurers Humana and Cigna in Talks for Blockbuster Merger

U.S. health insurer Cigna is reportedly in talks to merge with peer Humana in a deal that could exceed $60 billion in value. The potential merger, if finalized, would attract intense antitrust scrutiny. Cigna and Humana currently have limited business overlap, with their focus primarily on Medicare plans for older Americans. A merger would give the combined company more scale to compete with larger health insurance players like UnitedHealth Group and CVS Health. However, limited synergies between the two companies and concerns about overpayment and debt have led to investor skepticism. Cigna's shares fell 8.1% and Humana's shares dropped 5.5% following the news.