Yale University, Yale-New Haven Health and Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center in Farmington have announced that they plan to merge their managed care plans to create the largest provider-owned health plan in Connecticut.
The proposed merger -- which must be approved by the state's insurance and social services departments -- would combine Yale Preferred Health and HealthChoice of Connecticut, Inc. in order to provide comprehensive and competitively priced health benefits to consumers throughout the State of Connecticut. The announcement was made jointly by President Richard C. Levin; Joseph A. Zaccagnino, president and chief executive officer of Yale New Haven Health; and David D'Eramo, president and CEO of Saint Francis Hospital and Medical Center.
The synergy created by the merger will effectively position the new organization in the rapidly developing managed care marketplace, said officials. This will permit it to begin offering a commercial health maintenance organization HMO product, they added.
Yale Preferred Health, a licensed HMO founded in April of 1995, was jointly sponsored by the University and Yale New Haven Health. It is based in North Haven, Connecticut, and operates Preferred One, a Medicaid managed care plan with over 15,000 members, primarily in New Haven county.
HealthChoice, a preferred provider organization PPO based in Farmington, was established in September of 1990 by the Camillus Corporation, an affiliate of Saint Francis. Since November of 1994, Yale New Haven Health has owned a 50 percent share of HealthChoice. The PPO currently covers more than 180,000 individuals statewide and includes more than 6,000 physicians and ancillary providers, as well as 29 hospitals throughout Connecticut. HealthChoice also manages a partial risk health plan for Medicaid recipients.
"Combining the resources of our two organizations makes good business sense," says John W. Rohfritch, president and CEO of HealthChoice, who will preside over the newly merged corporation. "It will allow us to more efficiently deliver high-quality care to Connecticut residents."
According to Mr. Rohfritch, individuals now enrolled in plans covered by Yale Preferred Health and HealthChoice will continue to see their current health-care providers and will receive the same coverage under the merged entity. The company will retain service center locations in Farmington and the New Haven area, and it will initially operate under the HealthChoice corporate name.
The corporation will be 100 percent owned and operated by providers and will include an extensive network of institutions and physicians dedicated to delivering high-quality wellness, health maintenance and medical management services, says Mr. Rohfritch.