More than a month after the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association announced it was putting its Blue Healthcare Bank up for sale, no potential buyers have stepped forward, even in a market churning with consolidation.
“There are no further updates to report on the bank sale at this point,” said Lisa Johnson, BCBSA spokeswoman.
“The bottom line is I just don’t think anyone is interested – certainly not before we get a fully baked bill passed on the Hill,” said Carl Doty, vice president and research director for Forrester Research.
Despite the rise in popularity of health savings accounts the Blue Healthcare Bank isn’t anywhere near the top 30 banks as measured by total HSA account volume, Doty said. “That’s not much of an acquisition target in a market where the top 10 banks seem to be creating an ever-increasing separation from the rest of the pack,” he said.
Don’t expect traditional banking institutions to step into the market for the first time either, Doty said. “That ship has sailed – traditional banks that aren’t already in the HSA market missed the boat,” he said. “A new entrant would be a tiny fish in an enormous pond.”
Doty had mused that other payers with a multi-state reach – namely, WellPoint, Regence and the Health Care Service Corp. – might be suitors, but that looks unlikely.
“We are not considering acquisition of Blue Healthcare Bank,” said Angela Hult, a Regence spokeswoman. Regence already works with a financial institution that provides the same solutions that Blue Healthcare Bank does, she said.
Although WellPoint would not comment on any specific opportunities, spokeswoman Kristin Binns said, “WellPoint constantly evaluates business opportunities to improve and expand the products and services we offer our members.”
WellPoint offers its members financial services and products through ARCUS Bank, Binns said.
The fact that the Blues plans were not required to use Blue Healthcare Bank was a huge problem, Doty said. But it’s too late to remedy that mistake.