St. Louis-based Ascension will close an insurance unit and lay off 51 workers as it moves administration of its employee health plan to an outside company, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported Nov. 7.
The unit, Ascension Care Management Insurance Holdings in St. Louis, will begin layoffs Jan. 8, according to a Nov. 6 WARN notice filed with the Missouri Office of Workforce Development.
Ascension selected Luminare Health, a subsidiary of Chicago-based Health Care Service Corp., to serve as the third-party administrator for SmartHealth, the health plan for Ascension employees and their dependents, effective Jan. 1. The plan will be renamed the Ascension Health Plan.
“This transition aligns with our strategic priorities, supporting our ongoing commitment to operational strength and clinical excellence, while leveraging specialized expertise and technology for health plan management,” an Ascension spokesperson said in a statement to Becker’s.
The spokesperson said Ascension is working with Luminare to support affected employees and offer retention opportunities and placement support before the change takes effect. Workers who are not retained by Ascension or hired by Luminare will receive severance, according to the Post-Dispatch.
The move follows other steps by Ascension to scale back its insurance business, including an agreement to sell its stake in Arizona Medicaid plan Mercy Care to Aetna.
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