The leaders of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan said joining forces will give them the scale to expand across New England and beyond at a time when sweeping changes in the health care industry demand larger and more competitive players. Tufts CEO James Roosevelt Jr. and his Harvard Pilgrim counterpart, Eric H. Schultz, signed a memo of understanding to explore a merger and, in separate meetings with their employees, outlined how combining the state's second- and third-largest health plans would help provide improved medical care at lower cost. Schultz and Roosevelt spent the day briefing state business and government leaders, including Gov. Deval Patrick and US Senator Scott Brown, on their plan to merge the companies.
