business

WellPoint buys 1-800 CONTACTS

NEWS IN BRIEF — Posted June 18, 2012

Print  |   Email  |   Respond  |   Reprints  |   Like Facebook  |   Share Twitter  |   Tweet Linkedin

The country’s second-largest health plan will acquire contact lens and eyeglass retailer 1-800 CONTACTS Inc., a Utah-based corporation that offers prescription lenses to patients over the phone and online.

“This acquisition strategically aligns with our efforts to capitalize on new opportunities for growth and further diversifies the company’s revenue stream into the complementary and higher-margin eyewear business,” Angela Braly, chair, president and CEO of WellPoint said in a company news release.

Terms of the purchase were not made public, but analysts reported that WellPoint paid an estimated $900 million to private equity firm Fenway Partners for 1-800 CONTACTS. The deal is subject to regulatory approval by antitrust authorities.

WellPoint is not alone in attempting to diversify its business into consumer sales. For example, UnitedHealth Group last year announced it will begin selling hearing aids directly to consumers.

Note: This item originally appeared at http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2012/06/18/bibf0618.htm.

Back to top


ADVERTISEMENT

ADVERTISE HERE


Featured
Read story

Confronting bias against obese patients

Medical educators are starting to raise awareness about how weight-related stigma can impair patient-physician communication and the treatment of obesity. Read story


Read story

Goodbye

American Medical News is ceasing publication after 55 years of serving physicians by keeping them informed of their rapidly changing profession. Read story


Read story

Policing medical practice employees after work

Doctors can try to regulate staff actions outside the office, but they must watch what they try to stamp out and how they do it. Read story


Read story

Diabetes prevention: Set on a course for lifestyle change

The YMCA's evidence-based program is helping prediabetic patients eat right, get active and lose weight. Read story


Read story

Medicaid's muddled preventive care picture

The health system reform law promises no-cost coverage of a lengthy list of screenings and other prevention services, but some beneficiaries still might miss out. Read story


Read story

How to get tax breaks for your medical practice

Federal, state and local governments offer doctors incentives because practices are recognized as economic engines. But physicians must know how and where to find them. Read story


Read story

Advance pay ACOs: A down payment on Medicare's future

Accountable care organizations that pay doctors up-front bring practice improvements, but it's unclear yet if program actuaries will see a return on investment. Read story


Read story

Physician liability: Your team, your legal risk

When health care team members drop the ball, it's often doctors who end up in court. How can physicians improve such care and avoid risks? Read story

  • Stay informed
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • LinkedIn