"For sale" sign goes up at Wisconsin Blues

The insurer decides to join the trend toward larger, multistate Blues plans and evaluate interest from potential suitors.

By Cheryl Jackson, amednews staff. Aug. 20, 2001.

The company that controls BlueCross & BlueShield United of Wisconsin is putting itself up for sale.

Milwaukee-based Cobalt Corp. announced it has hired, Bear, Stearns & Co., an investment bank, to help it evaluate acquisition offers. The evaluation is expected to take several months. Cobalt officials would not disclose the names or numbers of entities interested in buying the company, but said it had received several offers.

"We have discussed over the last couple of years that with the consolidation of Blues plans and with our merger being successful that there would likely be interest," said Cobalt spokesman Bill Zaferos. "And that interest has taken place."

Cobalt, the state's largest health insurer, was formed in March when BlueCross & BlueShield of Wisconsin merged with United Wisconsin Services Inc.

Recent years have seen accelerated consolidation among Blues plans to gain financial strength with which to better compete, particularly against for-profit health plans.

Cobalt said July 30 that its second quarter and total 2001 financial results would not meet forecasts because of losses at its Compcare HMO.

Locally, physicians are watching such moves to make sure a sale won't affect how the plan operates with them, said Catherine Slota-Varma, MD, president of the Medical Society of Milwaukee County. [...]

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