HMO giant Kaiser Permanente might lose its perch atop California's health insurance world.
Anthem Inc. could leapfrog Kaiser and become the state's biggest health plan if its $54-billion acquisition of Cigna Corp. goes through next year. The deal was announced Friday.
Kaiser leads the California health insurance market with 7.8 million members through April, company figures show. The HMO is a popular option at many large employers and in California's Obamacare exchange.
Anthem is second in the state with about 6.1 million members, according to state data for 2013, the latest available. Cigna had about 2.