Health insurer UnitedHealthcare plans on acquiring XLHealth Corp., a privately held sponsor of Medicare Advantage health plans.
The cash purchase, which was not disclosed, is expected to close during the first half of 2012, and is expected to be accretive to UnitedHealthcare's parent company, UnitedHealth Group.
Providing quality and efficient care for dual eligible seniors with chronic conditions is a growing concern for health plans because these beneficiaries are high risk and high cost. At the same time, Medicare Advantage plans will grow with the tide of aging boomers.
"As more Americans enter Medicare with multiple chronic conditions, including many who are also eligible for Medicaid, health plans that deliver effective complex care management can make an enormous difference in the quality of care beneficiaries receive," said Gail Boudreaux, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, in a Nov. 22 announcement.
About 90 percent of Medicare beneficiaries have at least one chronic condition and nearly half of all beneficiaries have three or more conditions. In addition, dual eligible individuals represent a disproportionate share of Medicare beneficiaries with chronic diseases.
XLHealth's experience in improving care for high-risk Medicare beneficiaries and its innovative clinical model of care will boost UnitedHealthcare's position in the Medicare Advantage market, according to Boudreaux.
XLHealth, based in Baltimore, Md., is privately owned by management and affiliates of MatlinPatterson Global Opportunities Partners III LP. XLHealth focuses on improving patient outcomes, delivering quality healthcare benefits to the underserved and reducing healthcare spending. Its Care Improvement Plus provides comprehensive Medicare coverage and a Part D prescription drug benefit, plus additional services such as dental and vision coverage, and care management support.
In addition to chronic conditions special needs plans, XLHealth also offers dual eligible special needs plans and traditional Medicare Advantage plans.
XLHealth serves about 113,000 Medicare Advantage members in Arkansas, Georgia, Maryland, Missouri, South Carolina and Texas. It will expand to Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, New Mexico, New York and Wisconsin in 2012.