Aetna to Acquire PayFlex

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Aetna | Investor Relations | News Releases

HARTFORD, Conn., Jul 18, 2011 (BUSINESS WIRE) -- Aetna (NYSE: AET) today announced that it has entered into an agreement to acquire PayFlex Holdings, Inc., one of the nation's largest independent account-based health plan administrators, with approximately 1 million accounts and approximately 3,300 direct employer customers.
The purchase price is approximately $202 million. Aetna expects to finance the acquisition with available resources. The transaction is subject to customary closing conditions, including Hart-Scott-Rodino antitrust regulatory approval. The transaction is expected to close in the second half of 2011 and to be neutral to Aetna's financial results in 2011 and 2012.
"This acquisition fits well with Aetna's core business, which has a strong focus on consumer-directed product offerings," said Mark T. Bertolini, chairman, CEO and president. "With an increased focus on consumerism, the acquisition of PayFlex will extend Aetna's ability to provide members with flexible, customized, easy-to-use tools and solutions to better manage their health care expenses."
Joseph M. Zubretsky, senior executive vice president and CFO, added, "This acquisition will significantly strengthen Aetna's existing Consumer Fund Services (CFS) business and we believe it offers potentially attractive returns over time. Clearly, changes resulting from health care reform are on the horizon, such as health care exchanges requiring account-based health plans and tax-advantaged accounts."
PayFlex provides proprietary web-based benefit administration services and solutions for plan sponsors who offer consumer-based products such as Health Savings Accounts (HSAs), Health Reimbursement Accounts (HRAs) and Flexible Spending Accounts (FSAs), and also provides COBRA direct-billing services. Its key features include:

  • An integrated financial and wellness consumer portal called HealthHub;
  • A fully integrated consumer-based product technology platform;
  • Real-time authorization of qualified medical expenses; and
  • Preferred debit card relationship with more than 600,000 active participants.
Founded in 1987, PayFlex is located in Omaha, NE, with offices in Chicago, Denver, Shelton, CT, Bethesda and Hagerstown, MD. The company has approximately 423 employees.
"We are all excited to join the Aetna team," said Robert L. Natt, chief executive officer of PayFlex. "We firmly believe our proprietary HealthHub technology platform will be a great addition to the Aetna portfolio of products and will create unique market advantages for our existing and future potential customers."
PayFlex's management team and employee base are an important part of the company's current success in the marketplace and will remain with the company going forward. Aetna expects to combine PayFlex and its existing CFS business into a single unit with approximately 2 million accounts. The combination of these businesses will allow PayFlex to continue to sell its products on a standalone basis as well as on an integrated basis with Aetna products. Importantly, the combined business will be able to offer a comprehensive solution on a single platform.
About Aetna
Aetna is one of the nation's leading diversified health care benefits companies, serving approximately 33.8 million people with information and resources to help them make better informed decisions about their health care. Aetna offers a broad range of traditional, voluntary and consumer-directed health insurance products and related services, including medical, pharmacy, dental, behavioral health, group life and disability plans, and medical management capabilities and health care management services for Medicaid plans. Our customers include employer groups, individuals, college students, part-time and hourly workers, health plans, governmental units, government-sponsored plans, labor groups and expatriates.
 
I see it as a move to diversify. A means to generate other revenue in the health business, and not play "insurer" in the future. Writing on the wall? Look at Express Scripts buying someone else today. Consolidation in the Rx market. I haven't heard of any insurer buying another insurer. Probably due to it being a dead market come 2014
 
Just wait until Aetna slashes the paychecks of PayFlex workers the way they slashed our commissions. That PayFlex manager who is "thrilled" to be a part of the Aetna group will be singing a different tune in a few months.
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I see it as a move to diversify. A means to generate other revenue in the health business, and not play "insurer" in the future. Writing on the wall? Look at Express Scripts buying someone else today. Consolidation in the Rx market. I haven't heard of any insurer buying another insurer. Probably due to it being a dead market come 2014

A Midwest VP of a top health insurer visited our brokerage recently. Said that they've lowered their premiums enough this year to rake in as much new business as possible, sell this huge customer base, and then live rich & free from Obamacare mandates. He cited how Unicare lowered it's prices, acquired millions of new customers and then sold them to BCBS-IL.

Don't know why he told our brokerage owner this, because the field doesn't gain anything from these sell-offs. I think he was just giving a "heads up" or something.
-ac
 
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Just wait until Aetna slashes the paychecks of PayFlex workers the way they slashed our commissions. That PayFlex manager who is "thrilled" to be a part of the Aetna group will be singing a different tune in a few months.
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A Midwest VP of a top health insurer visited our brokerage recently. Said that they've lowered their premiums enough this year to rake in as much new business as possible, sell this huge customer base, and then live rich & free from Obamacare mandates. He cited how Unicare lowered it's prices, acquired millions of new customers and then sold them to BCBS-IL.

Don't know why he told our brokerage owner this, because the field doesn't gain anything from these sell-offs. I think he was just giving a "heads up" or something.
-ac

cite the name of the carrier or i am forced to question the truth of your statement.... I have seen a pattern that you say things like that but never cite the source.... give it up
 
cite the name of the carrier or i am forced to question the truth of your statement.... I have seen a pattern that you say things like that but never cite the source.... give it up

Colleague Peeler,
If I was a member of this forum to satisfy my ego, or to seek acceptance, I would cite my source(s). Truthfully, I'd have more to lose than to gain because some of these "sources" are members of this forum and others visit just to see what's being said. They know who "AllenChicago" is in real life. Sure, I could reconfig my IP/MAC and re-enroll as a new member, but like I said at the top, my statements are only to share info. It's not important to me if the info is believed, accepted, etc.. Have a super weekend!


Oh, BTW..the real reason for coming back to this thread today.. (I was caught off-guard by Peeler's statement, so I replied to him first.) BCBS-IL sent out an e-mail yesterday evening describing this Aetna purchase of PayFlex and reassuring us that even though PayFlex is an administrator for BCBS-IL Group plans, this purchase by Aetna will not have any adverse impact on BCBS-IL groups. They sure reacted quickly to the news!
-AC
 
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