HMO consolidation: a threat to network integration?

The ongoing wave of consolidations among major health plans and insurers across the country is creating anxiety and challenges for integrated networks and for providers in general. The federal government's recent action in intervening in the Aetna U.S. Healthcare/Prudential Health Plans merger offers some hope, say provider executives, that some providers may see some policy relief in the future. But integrated providers in highly managed care-penetrated markets like those of the large urban markets on the West Coast are already operating in an environment of high tension and consolidation.