What’s Next for Managed Care?

The managed care mega-deals of 2015 have blown up. Aetna (NYSE: AET) and Humana (NYSE: HUM) amicably terminated their $37 billion merger, following a federal judge’s order in January to block the deal on antitrust grounds. The $1 billion termination fee was in the works. A different federal judge blocked Anthem (NYSE: ANTM) and Cigna’s (NYSE: CI) $54.2 billion merger on similar grounds. Things turned ugly quickly, as Cigna declared the deal dead and sued Anthem for the $1.85 billion termination fee, and another $13 billion in damages on behalf of its shareholders. Anthem says it will go ahead with the merger. What do the Big Five health insurers do now that they’re... Read More »

The Market for PBMs Slows in 2016

Magellan Health, Inc. (NASDAQ: MGLN), a healthcare management company specializing in special populations and pharmacy benefits management, has just acquired privately held Veridicus Holdings, LLC. The sellers are Gauge Capital, company management and other unnamed backers. Based in Salt Lake City, Veridicus is a pharmacy benefit management (PBM) company that uses proprietary software to integrate pharmacy, medical and lab data to drive targeted interventions for complex patient populations. The $74.5 million deal gives Magellan access to Veridicus’ 225,000 members. Veridicus also owns and operates a fully licensed insurance company which serves members enrolled in the Medicare Part D... Read More »