John Oxendine, Georgia Insurance Commissioner, and Anthem Inc. have reached an agreement under which Anthem will pledge $126 million to improve rural health care for the poor in Georgia–in return, Oxendine has agreed to re-approve the acquisition of California-based WellPoint Health Networks. The deal cleared the way for the creation of the nation’s largest health insurance company.
Oxendine’s approval re-moved the final hurdle blocking the merger between California-based WellPoint and Indiana-based Anthem.
Oxendine initially approved the merger June 8, but later said California incentives changed the conditions of the merger and required him to review it again. He insisted on re-approving the merger after California’s insurance commissioner negotiated a $265 million package. Georgia’s new package includes $11.5 million in cash, $15 million in health claims reimbursements over three years and $100 million in investments over 20 years.
“It’s the largest rollout of a telemedicine network in the United States,” Oxendine said.
The money from BlueCross BlueShield of Georgia, which Anthem will own after it buys WellPoint, will pay for 36 clinics and medical equipment.
About 3.1 million Georgians are enrolled in a WellPoint plan. Georgia will have the second largest enrollment among the 13 states in which the Anthem-WellPoint system sells BlueCross and BlueShield policies. Calif-ornia has the largest membership with about seven million people covered.
As part of the agreement, Anthem will finance telemedicine centers at 36 rural Georgia hospitals, clinics and the state’s four teaching hospitals. Its insurance benefits will also cover telemedicine procedures. Through tele-medicine a patient in a rural part of the state can be diagnosed by a specialist in a larger hospital via teleconferencing technology.
Over the next 20 years, according to Oxendine, the insurer also agreed to assist Georgia’s rural health centers expand, renovate and upgrade equipment by purchasing their bonds and other debt instruments. Anthem promised that the merger would not lead to higher insurance premiums for Georgia BlueCross policyholders, Oxendine said.
Topics California Georgia
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