Jefferson Health is poised to pick up 100 percent ownership in a Medicaid and Medicare health plan, according to the Philadelphia Business Journal.
The insurer, Health Partners Plans, covers 262,000 Medicaid and Medicare beneficiaries. Jefferson acquired a 25 percent stake in the health plan in 2016, according to the report. By mid-November, Jefferson is set to gain the remaining stake through acquisitions involving Temple University Health System and Einstein Healthcare Network, both in Philadelphia.
An executive for Philadelphia-based Jefferson told the Philadelphia Business Journal that, while Jefferson plans on expanding both of Health Partners' government lines, it doesn't plan on using the deal to move into the commercial insurance market.
"We do not intend to enter the commercial or self-insured health insurance markets," Bruce Meyer, MD, president of Jefferson Health and senior executive vice president of Thomas Jefferson University, told the newspaper. "In this market, Independence Blue Cross, Aetna, and UnitedHealthcare do a good job in those areas. It's their core business and they do a good job. It's tough for new entrants. We don't feel the need to compete in the commercial area with those folks."