Excellus parent, Capital region health insurer plan affiliation

It’s pending regulatory approval

ROCHESTER — The Lifetime Healthcare Companies isn’t sure how long the review process will take, but it has plans to form an affiliation with a health-insurance carrier in the Capital Region. The Lifetime Healthcare Companies — the Rochester–based parent company of Excellus BlueCross BlueShield and Univera Healthcare — and CDPHP of Albany on May 22 announced plans to form an affiliation. A spokesman for Lifetime tells CNYBJ that the firm’s officials “do not know how long it will take the regulatory agencies to review the proposal.” The Lifetime Healthcare Companies and CDPHP are two of New York’s larger health-insurance carriers. Under the agreement, the health insurers say they will maintain their local brands and identities while “gaining economies of scale” through shared technologies, systems, processes, and resources as part of “one corporate family.” The Lifetime Healthcare Companies and CDPHP have announced their intent to affiliate with the appropriate government agencies. If state and federal regulators approve the affiliation, the Lifetime Healthcare Companies would become the parent company of CDPHP, Excellus, and Univera Healthcare. Excellus is Central New York’s largest health insurer. The Lifetime Healthcare Companies employs about 4,500 New Yorkers and serves 1.5 million members in the 39 counties of upstate New York. Established in 1984, CDPHP is a physician-founded health plan that offers health insurance throughout New York. CDPHP covers an area with that includes Madison, Oneida, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, St. Lawrence, Broome, Chenango, and Tioga counties. CDPHP currently employs 1,400 people in the Capital Region and beyond and serves 400,000 members in 36 counties. “As we celebrate 40 years of CDPHP delivering high-quality, affordable health care —and as I mark 16 years of leading this great organization — it gives me tremendous pride to announce our plans to partner with The Lifetime Healthcare Companies,” Dr. John Bennett, president and CEO of CDPHP, said in the announcement. “It was important for us to partner with a not-for-profit health plan that shares in our mission of driving better health outcomes, increasing member satisfaction, and controlling the rising cost of care in the combined communities we serve.” The boards of directors of CDPHP and The Lifetime Healthcare Companies unanimously approved the affiliation. “As a physician founded and guided health plan, the CDPHP board of directors knew it was important that we find a health plan that puts patient care first. I am pleased to say that we have found a likeminded partner with The Lifetime Healthcare Companies,” Dr. Michael DeVito, chair of the CDPHP board of directors, said in the announcement. “We look forward to working alongside The Lifetime Healthcare Companies as we continue our mission of providing access to high quality, high satisfaction care in the communities we serve.” “We’re confident that The Lifetime Healthcare Companies and CDPHP will accomplish even more together with this affiliation,” Faheem Masood, chair of The Lifetime Healthcare Companies boards of directors, added. “The health insurers are likeminded in mission, and their shared commitment to our communities will help make health care better for us all.” Working together, Excellus, CDPHP, and Univera Healthcare will combine resources; leverage best practices; and develop “new and innovative ways to improve the quality, affordability, and experience of care” for millions of New Yorkers, per the joint announcement. “I’m excited to partner with CDPHP to work together on quality, affordability, and access to health care in our respective regions,” Jim Reed, president and CEO of the Lifetime Healthcare Companies, said in the announcement. “I have a tremendous amount of respect for the reputation CDPHP has built in the Capital Region and the work of the health plan. It just makes sense to partner with such a trusted, mission-driven not-for-profit whose culture aligns so closely to ours.”