US: Massachusetts hospital network, health insurer explore merger

The largest hospital network in Massachusetts and the state’s second-largest health insurer confirmed Friday, May 4, that they began talks about a possible merger last year.

Several sources say hospital network Partners HealthCare and health insurance company Harvard Pilgrim Health Care are close to signing a letter of intent, although the official word from both parties is that the discussions are preliminary.

“These conversations are occurring in a very dynamic health care environment,” says Harvard Pilgrim spokeswoman Joan Fallon, “in which the organizations that will be best positioned for future success are those that can create a truly seamless consumer experience that improves health outcomes and lowers costs.”

Partners already owns one insurer, Neighborhood Health Plan (NHP), but Harvard Pilgrim would give the hospital system a much bigger footprint in Massachusetts and beyond. Harvard Pilgrim has a substantial number of large employers that are self-insured, it offers coverage in New Hampshire, Connecticut and Maine, and it has a small but established Medicare Advantage plan. NHP has recently shifted from Medicaid to the private insurance market, but is still building that business.

Full Content: Biz Journals

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