NeueHealth will be taken private by its largest shareholder New Enterprise Associates and a group of existing investors in a $1.3 billion deal, including debt, the healthcare provider says. At $7.33 per share in cash, the deal represents a premium of about 70% to the NeueHealth stock's last closing price on Monday. The deal includes a 30-day "go-shop" period that will expire on Jan. 23, during which the company can weigh rival proposals. NEA held a 32.9% stake in NeueHealth, as of Sept. 30, according to LSEG data. NeueHealth's executive leadership team will continue in their roles upon completion of the deal and plan to roll over 100% of their equity interests for newly issued equity interests in the privately held company. Previously known as Bright Health Group, the company renamed itself earlier this year. It operates clinics under the brand names of Centrum Health, AssociatesMD, and Premier Medical Associates.
Patients examined by doctors working for UnitedHealth, an industry pioneer in directly employing large numbers of physicians, had some of the biggest increases in sickness scores after moving from traditional Medicare to the company's plans, according to the Journal’s analysis of Medicare data between 2019 and 2022. Sickness scores for those UnitedHealth patients increased 55%, on average, in their first year in the plans, the analysis showed. That increase was roughly equivalent to every patient getting newly diagnosed with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and breast cancer, the analysis showed. That far outpaced the 7% year-over-year rise in the sickness scores of patients who stayed in traditional Medicare, according to the analysis. Across Medicare Advantage plans run by all insurers, including UnitedHealth, scores for all newly enrolled patients rose by 30% in the first year. A spokesman for UnitedHealth said in a written statement that the company’s practices lead to "more accurate diagnoses, greater availability of care and better health outcomes and prevention, including less hospitalization, more cancer screenings and better chronic disease management." The company’s approach, he said, helped to avert more serious health problems later, and to achieve Medicare Advantage’s goals of improving quality and reducing costs.
The state's largest health insurers, Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts and Point32Health, told WBUR their customers can expect average increases of 8 to 10%. Health plans and costs vary widely from one employer to another, so some businesses and their workers will see smaller increases, while others will face cost spikes as high as 15%. These average increases far exceed the typical pace of inflation — and the annual pay raises that most people receive.
For years, Wellpath, the largest commercial provider of healthcare in jails and prisons across 37 states, has been the target of federal lawsuits and scrutiny by lawmakers for its practices that have been alleged to cause long-term health problems and the deaths of dozens of incarcerated individuals.