Managed Care Deals Deflate in 2016

As the end of the year approaches, the Managed Care sector hasn’t changed its sluggish pace. Just 20 deals have been announced through mid-December, a 56% drop from 2015’s total of 45 transactions. Spending is another matter. As of this writing, nearly $1.7 billion has been committed to financing the 20 deals. There is no way to match last year’s outrageous total of $100.4 billion, courtesy of the two super-mega-deals from Aetna (NYSE: AET) and Anthem (NYSE: ANTM), made for Humana (NYSE: HUM, $37 billion) and Cigna (NYSE: CI, $54 billion), respectively. You’ve been living under a rock if you haven’t heard that the Justice Department challenged those mergers back in... Read More »

WellCare Branches into Arizona with Care1st Buy

WellCare Health Plans, Inc. (NYSE: WCG) is moving into the Arizona Medicare and Medicaid markets. Care1st Health Plan, an affiliate of Blue Shield of California, agreed to sell its subsidiaries Care1st Health Plan Arizona, Inc. and ONECare by Care1st Health Plan of Arizona, Inc. (together, Care1st Arizona), managed care companies that provide Medicaid and Medicare benefits to approximately 114,ooo beneficiaries in Maricopa and Pima counties, Arizona’s largest geographic service areas. The $157.5 million purchase price is inclusive of statutory capital and subject to certain adjustments, and will be funded with available cash on hand. WellCare provides government-sponsored managed... Read More »