Bright Health finalizes MA sale to Molina, amends credit facility

The sale of Bright Health Group's Medicare Advantage plans to Molina Healthcare has cleared the needed regulatory hurdles and is set to close on or about Jan. 1.

The troubled insurtech also announced Friday that it had secured an amendment to its credit facility with J.P. Morgan, reducing the payments owed by $30 million to about $298 million. Bright said it expects to make the payment at the same time as the MA deal closes, wiping out its secured debt.

The remaining proceeds from the sale to Molina will be used to "meaningfully improve the capital position of Bright Health’s continuing business," the company said.

“I am really proud of all we have accomplished this year and look forward to further focusing on the long-term success of our NeueHealth business, which has proven to drive differentiated value for health consumers, providers, and payers across the healthcare ecosystem,” said Mike Mikan, President and CEO of Bright Health, in a press release.

“While we have been working on maturing as a company and improving our capital position, we have also continued to relentlessly focus on serving people every day who are in need of high-quality care," Mikan said. "We are excited to continue to advance our value-driven, consumer-centric care model as we help align providers and payers to better serve consumers.”

Earlier this month, Molina lowered the purchase price for Bright's MA business to about $500 million, with $100 million of that being siphoned into an escrow account.

Following the deal's closure and its payouts to J.P. Morgan, Bright said it expects to begin the new year with about $90 million in unregulated cash. It will also start the year with a fresh focus on its NeueHealth business, which offers value-based care to people with coverage on the marketplaces, in Medicare Advantage and in Medicaid.

The company's exit from the insurance business will continue to be a drag on its finances for the foreseeable future, though, as it repays risk adjustment funds owed to the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services and several states.