Cigna-Express Scripts deal has already cost $201M

The $67 billion mega-merger between Cigna and Express Scripts has already cost a staggering $201 million, Axios reported.

The deal, which has already been approved by shareholders and cleared by nearly half of the necessary regulators, is anticipated to close in the second half of 2018. Cigna cited the estimated actual transaction costs incurred by the deal in 2018 at $201 million in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

The transaction costs will likely be passed onto consumers, Axios reported. The deal brings together a major insurance provider and a large pharmacy benefits manager (PBM) at a time when the healthcare industry is seeing rapid consolidation. Another large PBM, CVS Health, is attempting to acquire insurance provider Aetna for $69 billion.

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Amy Baxter

Amy joined TriMed Media as a Senior Writer for HealthExec after covering home care for three years. When not writing about all things healthcare, she fulfills her lifelong dream of becoming a pirate by sailing in regattas and enjoying rum. Fun fact: she sailed 333 miles across Lake Michigan in the Chicago Yacht Club "Race to Mackinac."

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