Is Molina the Next Aggregator of Smaller Medicaid Plans?
With an increasing share of seniors enrolling each year, a healthy rate environment and a meaningful return on scale, Medicare Advantage is largely seen as a safe space for insurers and one that is likely to drive mergers and acquisitions (M&A) for the foreseeable future. But one analyst suggests there’s room for growth in managed Medicaid, and that Molina Healthcare, Inc. could be positioned as the next aggregator of Medicaid managed care plans.
In the midst of a financial turnaround that involved major management changes and a corporate restructuring effort, Molina in February delivered impressive fourth-quarter and full-year 2019 earnings and unveiled two small acquisitions that would have given the company nearly 100,000 new enrollees combined (RMA 3/5/20, p. 5). Although one of the deals fell through, Molina on July 1 said it completed the acquisition of certain assets of YourCare Health Plan, Inc., a nonprofit subsidiary of Monroe Plan for Medical Care with approximately 47,000 Medicaid members in seven counties in the Western New York and Finger Lakes regions.