MVP Health Care acquires Hudson Valley health insurer, reduces workforce

MVP Health Care on Friday announced the acquisition of Hudson Health Plan, a health insurer and Medicaid managed-care organization headquartered in Tarrytown.

Neither organization is releasing financial terms of the agreement.

MVP Health Care has no immediate plans for “significant changes” to Hudson’s operations, the Schenectady–based health insurer said in a news release.

Hudson will continue to do business as “Hudson Health Plan,” MVP said.

It will keep serving members in Medicaid-managed care, Child Health Plus, and Family Health Plus in Westchester, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, Ulster, and Sullivan counties, according to MVP.

Child Health Plus is state-provided insurance plan for children available to families who meet income eligibility requirements, according to the website of the New York State Department of Health.

Family Health Plus is a public health-insurance program for adults who are aged 19 to 64 who have income too high to qualify for Medicaid, according to the same website.

The combination of MVP and Hudson Health Plan brings together two mission-driven, community-oriented companies with similar values, Denise Gonick, president and CEO of MVP Health Care, said in the news release.

“We see many synergies and increased growth opportunities, especially in the upcoming Health Benefit Exchange marketplace. We believe that the sum of our combination will be greater than the individual parts,” Gonick said.

The merger will create many new opportunities for our customers, employees and communities, Georganne Chapin, president and CEO of Hudson, said.

“We will now become part of an organization with the critical mass necessary to thrive and grow in the rapidly evolving health-care field,” Chapin said.

The acquisition of Hudson Health Plan comes as MVP is reducing its workforce.

The health insurer on May 2 announced the layoff of 22 employees, including two workers from its Syracuse office. The majority of the layoffs affected MVP’s offices in Schenectady and Rochester.

Media reports indicate the May 2 layoffs followed another round of employee cuts in January that bring the total number of cuts, including some positions that weren’t filled, to about 90 since the start of 2013. 

“The health care marketplace is changing rapidly, and MVP must constantly adapt in order to best serve our customers and be competitive in the marketplace. Because of this constant change, MVP always has to evaluate its strategies, business plans, and staffing plans and make changes as required based on business needs,” the health insurer said in the statement about the layoffs.

MVP is providing the affected employees with severance pay, benefits, and outplacement assistance, the health insurer said.

MVP employs about 1,500 people, including about 50 in Central New York, according to the 2013 Book of Lists.