Aetna, WellPoint CFOs: Mergers and acquisition deals increasing

The chief financial officers at Aetna (NYSE: AET) and WellPoint (NYSE: WLP) think that mergers and acquisitions throughout the health insurance industry are increasing. "The M&A climate is heating up," Aetna CFO Joseph Zubretsky tells Reuters. "I think you'll see the larger plans that have significant capital be the consolidators of the small and regional plans." Zubretsky says such smaller plans are struggling with the fixed costs associated with the new regulations, as well as with rules requiring insurers to spend a certain amount of premiums on medical care as opposed to administrative costs and profit. Similarly, Wayne DeVeydt, the CFO of WellPoint, says that "the pipeline for deals is still quite robust." Article