WellPoint buys California Medicare Advantage plan

WellPoint has joined some of its competitors in investing in the senior market, and directly providing health care, with the purchase of Cerritos, Calif.-based CareMore Health.

CareMore operates a Medicare Advantage plan and 26 affiliated clinics in Arizona, California and Nevada. Its mission statement says the goal is to "provide focused and innovative health care approaches to the complex problems of aging; serve our members by prolonging active and independent life; serve caregivers and family by providing support, education, and access to services; and to protect precious financial resources of seniors and the Medicare program through innovative methods of managing chronic disease, frailty and end of life."

WellPoint President, CEO and Chair Angela Braly said the company knows it needs to prepare for a growing market of seniors. "We anticipate that more than 1 million baby boomers will age into Medicare every year between now and 2030 across our 14 Blue states." WellPoint operates BlueCross BlueShield-affiliated plans in those states.

As of March 31, WellPoint counted 1.3 million seniors in its 34.2 million membership rolls, and an additional 1.2 million enrolled in a Medicare Part D plan, which it counts separately.

CareMore covers about 54,000 members and specializes in intensive disease management, employing physicians, nurse practitioners, medical assistants, podiatrists, physical therapists, nutritionists, psychologists and case managers as part of its benefits program.

The acquisition is pending regulatory approval but is expected to close by the end of 2011. WellPoint did not disclose the purchase price, but The New York Times cited sources familiar with the deal who said it was about $800 million.

WellPoint is the latest large health plan to invest in clinics to serve its members.

Humana bought Concentra, a chain of walk-in urgent-care and work-site clinics based in Addison, Texas, for $790 million in December 2010. Cigna recently opened what it said would be the first of a series of retail clinics. In August 2010, Medicare Advantage plans HealthSpring in Franklin, Tenn., and Bravo Health in Baltimore merged. Bravo Health operates clinics for its Medicare Advantage members in Baltimore and Philadelphia.