Business
Deal between United, Health Net finalized
NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted Dec. 28, 2009
Insurance regulators in New Jersey, New York and Connecticut approved UnitedHealthcare's purchase of renewal rights for Health Net's membership in the three states, making the deal official as of Dec. 11.
The transaction was opposed by the American Medical Association and each of the three state medical societies.
The arrangement gives UnitedHealthcare, owned by UnitedHealth Group, access to Health Net's 578,000 members in the Northeast as Health Net focuses on its business in California and Arizona. The deal could be worth as much as $630 million over the next five years, depending on how many Health Net members end up covered by United.
Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal continued to investigate the potential anticompetitive effect the arrangement might have in the state, but his approval was not required for the transaction to go through. Because the purchase of renewal rights is not a merger, it is not subject to the terms of the federal Hart-Scott-Rodino Act.
Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/12/28/bibf1228.htm.
