(Source: Business Wire)
UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company, and Health Net, Inc. (NYSE: HNT) today announced that UnitedHealthcare has agreed to acquire Health Net of the Northeast's licensed subsidiaries and will work with Health Net to renew the customers currently enrolled in those plans with UnitedHealthcare as those customers reach their annual renewal dates. The transaction, subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions, is expected to close within 12 months.
"We look forward to continuing to advance the health and well-being of Health Net's Northeast members through affordable, quality health care options," said Jeff Alter, UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Officer, Northeast Region. "We have a long, successful history of serving people in the Northeast and are committed to responding to local market needs while also providing people with access to the innovative health care products, programs and technology applications of a company with national scale."
"A primary goal of our strategic review was to realize the value in our Northeast health plans. This transaction will achieve this goal," said Jay Gellert, Health Net's President and Chief Executive Officer. "We now can focus our resources on our health plans in the West. At the same time, we are committed to meeting our Northeast members' needs as we continue to operate in the Northeast during the post-closing transition period."
The transition period is the period following the close of the transaction and prior to the completion of the transition of the membership to UnitedHealthcare.
Additionally, as part of its strategic review, Health Net announced that it is retaining its Arizona health plan. "We determined that there are greater synergistic opportunities among our three Western health plans than we originally thought," said Mr. Gellert. "Also, Arizona's performance is improving significantly. The commercial market has become much more rational, our provider network is stable, and Medicare is achieving anticipated improvements."
Benefits to Health Net's Customers Health Net's Northeast customers, upon underwriting and renewal with UnitedHealthcare, will have access to a strong local network of more than 79,000 health care professionals, 200 hospitals and 7,000 pharmacies in Connecticut, New York and New Jersey. UnitedHealthcare has a national network of more than 590,000 health care professionals, 4,900 hospitals and 61,000 pharmacies. Health Net's Northeast customers will be able to choose from a full range of affordable and innovative UnitedHealthcare products and services, including:
Proactive care management and wellness tools, such as health coaching programs, which utilize the proprietary eSyncSM technology for access from multiple electronic platforms (e.g., phone, email, text messaging);
A full suite of disease management programs that range from helping members stay healthy to living with illness;
Programs that use data to help physicians achieve optimal outcomes for their patients;
Health care technology and applications that simplify and enhance patient and physician engagement with the health system; and
Service solutions tailored to the unique needs of all customer segments with local, rapid resolution teams, continuous monitoring of member, physician and customer feedback, and a focus on quality.
