Anthem to buy Kansas Blues for $190 million

The Indianapolis-based insurer will add 715,000 members once the deal to buy the Kansas plan is closed.

By Cheryl Jackson, AMNews staff. June 18, 2001.

Prepare to add another Blues plan to the no-longer-independent list.

Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield announced May 31 that it plans to buy Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas.

The deal, contingent upon the approval of Kansas insurance regulators and Blues members, has Indianapolis-based Anthem paying $190 million for the Kansas Blues. Blues members are expected to receive about $370 million in cash after conversion expenses late this year, when the deal is expected to close.

"The great thing about this affiliation is there's tremendous similarity in terms of our thinking and strategic direction," said Anthem's president and chief executive, Larry Glasscock.

Physicians, he said, are unlikely to see a change in how things operate in Kansas, as the plan's Topeka-based management would stay in place.

"From Anthem's perspective, this is clearly a message to Wall Street that 'We're going to do these deals,' " said Duane Sobecki, a senior partner with Corsair Health, an Indianapolis-based health care consulting firm. "The fact that they paid 190 million bucks before they have even gone public is a clear signal that they intend to be one of the few plans left standing by the time this is all over with."

Anthem has 7.5 million members in Indiana, Kentucky, Ohio, Connecticut, New Hampshire, Colorado, Nevada and Maine. The Kansas plan adds 715,000 members. [...]