TOPEKA — Insurance Commissioner Sandy Praeger is scheduled to preside over a public hearing on the proposed purchase of Coventry Health Care of Kansas by Aetna, Inc.

The hearing is set for 1 p.m. Nov. 5 at the Shawnee A Room of the Capitol Plaza Hotel Maner Conference Center, 1717 SW Topeka, Blvd. in Topeka.

Aetna, Inc., a national company, announced Aug. 20 its agreement to purchase Coventry Health Care, Inc., also a national company, for $7.3 billion. Coventry Health Care of Kansas, Inc., a subsidiary of the Coventry national corporation, is regulated by the Kansas Insurance Department.

Interested parties will be given a chance to speak on the proposed acquisition.

According to insurance department officials, Praeger will give opening comments, followed by testimony from Coventry and Aetna representatives. After insurance department officials testify, the hearing will be opened for public comments.

The proposed acquisition can't go forward without approval from regulators in each of the 26 states where Coventry companies operate.

According to the insurance department, Aetna in 2011 had $57.7 million in premium sales in Kansas. Coventry Health Care of Kansas had $187 million in Kansas premiums during the same year.

In 2010, Coventry Health Care of Kansas acquired Preferred Health Systems of Kansas. That acquisition was approved by Praeger.