Change won’t come easy, as this Editor predicted. Now the closing of the Change Healthcare acquisition by UnitedHealth Group has been pushed off to April 2022. Announced in January, it was delayed in August and October/November with the Department of Justice review of the merger under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Antitrust Act (HSR). This SEC filing by UnitedHealth is the first time a definite date target has been set. Change’s diversified health IT/data analytics/imaging/payments systems would be combined with OptumInsight. HealthcareFinanceNews
Amazon finally named a head of healthcare to oversee Amazon Care, Amazon Pharmacy, Halo and Alexa’s healthcare uses. Neil Lindsay, former head of Amazon Prime, was named senior vice president of health and brand within Amazon’s global consumer business, reporting to CEO Andy Jassy. Mr. Lindsay sits on the so-called ‘S-team’, Amazon’s most influential executive group. Take this as an indicator of the importance of healthcare to their business. The terseness of the information has been typical of Amazon. Becker’s Hospital Review, CNBC
Centene, one of the top 10 health plan companies in the US, had a major shakeup this week. Long-time CEO Michael Neidorff will retire and exit sometime in 2022. The board, now set at 14 members, retired three directors via a new age limit of 75. Five new directors will come on board, including Ken Burdick, former CEO of WellCare Health Plans, acquired by Centene in 2020, and Wayne DeVeydt, former Anthem CFO.
The shake-n-bake has been shaking since November, when activist investor Politan Capital Management started to press for changes. Other changes include a projected sale of non-core assets, including private hospitals Circle Health in the UK and Ribera in Spain, with combined revenue of $2 billion. The rather ‘shaggy’ list of Medicaid managed care, Medicare Advantage, and exchange plans–none of which carry the Centene brand–and a potpourri of other units and management services are being examined bottom up by a three-person “value creation office”, as are Centene’s extensive real estate holdings and leases, to extract savings wherever possible. One area mentioned was hybrid and at-home work, a major change to the Centene “cubie” culture.
Neidorff joined a tiny Centene as CEO in 1996 and is now 78. There is no update on the delayed Magellan behavioral health management acquisition. Healthcare Dive 14 Dec, 13 Dec. Centene releases on Neidorff’s retirement as “leadership succession plan” and governance/board changes.
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