Large employers are wary of megamergers that some of the country's largest health insurers are pursuing. 

Insurers have insisted that Aetna's proposed $37 billion purchase of Humana and Anthem's proposed $54 billion acquisition of Cigna will result in savings for consumers, including businesses desperate to slow down the rapidly increasing cost of covering employees. 

They argue that the muscle they gain from the mergers will allow them to negotiate lower prices with hospitals, physicians, specialists, and pharmaceutical companies that they can pass on to their policyholders. They have also pointed to an increasing consolidation of hospitals as evidence that payers need to similarly bulk up to negotiate lower prices.  

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