Aetna Purchasing Coventry in $5.7 Billion Deal, Expanding Medicare/Medicaid Business

Even more consolidation is expected in the insurance industry as ObamaCare comes into effect

Aetna, one of the nation's biggest health insurers, staked a $5.7 billion claim in the burgeoning market for government-funded coverage Monday when it announced plans to buy fellow insurerCoventry Health Care.

The Hartford, Conn., company's proposed cash-and-stock acquisition of Coventry will bolster itsMedicaid enrollment months before millions of uninsured Americans are expected to become eligible for coverage through that state-federal program as part of President Barack Obama's massive health care overhaul.