LOUISVILLE, Ky. — Two large health insurance companies are in talks to merge, according to a Wall Street Journal report.
Louisville-based Humana could merge with Cigna, possibly before the end of the year, according to the report. The WSJ reported the companies are discussing a stock-for-cash deal, citing "people familiar with the matter."
"Whatever this news might prove to be," Mayor Craig Greenberg told WHAS11 on Thursday. "We want to make sure that Humana knows that we want to do whatever we can as a city to insure we continue to grow their presence in Louisville."
With remote work as an option, and many local employees contributing to the company from their homes, Mayor Greenberg is confident in the insurer's future here.
WHAS11 has not been able to independently verify the report. A Humana spokesperson declined to comment to WHAS11, but they haven't confirmed or denied the merger possibility.
In an email sent to Humana employees, outgoing CEO Bruce Broussard called the headlines "rumors."
The chatter came a day before David Jones Jr. watched a hometown hero banner raised for his dad, the co-founder of Humana, David Jones Sr. He said his father's legacy was one of change.
"As we think about the challenge for the future of Louisville and the company, that company, all companies, we gotta be ready to change," Jones Jr. shared. He was on the company's board but left in 2023. The WSJ report, he said, was new to him.
Humana has 12,360 employees in Louisville, according to the Greater Louisville Metro Chamber of Commerce. It is the fifth-largest employer in the city.
"I don't think there's any question there would be concern over those," said Dr. Kurt Jefferson. "Including the C-suite and some of the mid-management and upper-management jobs leaving Louisville."
Dr. Jefferson, Dean of Graduate Studies at Spalding University, studies political science and moved to Louisville seven years ago because he saw the city's economic growth potential. He believes Biden administration regulations and court opinions could hurdle any potential merge of the companies.
The two companies explored a merger in 2015 until Humana struck a deal with Aetna instead, which was then blocked by a judge for violating anti-trust laws.
Humana generated about $93 billion last year and Cigna generated about $181 billion. Humana is the second-largest Medicare insurer behind UnitedHealth.
Cigna has a large pharmacy benefit unit that analysts believe would pair well with Humana's Medicare business.
Cigna is based in Bloomfield, Connecticut.
At the street level, William Weaver runs Lou Diggity No Doubt hot-dog stand on Whiskey row near Humana's executive offices. Although some of their employees are his regulars, the business mostly thrives off tourism.
"It's excellent, man," he said, "we want to keep everybody downtown. Whiskey Row is becoming a big thing. We got gambling downtown right now. So I mean, downtown Louisville's the place to be."
It just might not be the place for Humana if the supposed rumors are true.
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