SCAN Group, CareOregon to combine and form HealthRight Group

Nonprofit insurers CareOregon and SCAN Group have agreed to combine, forming the nonprofit healthcare organization HealthRight Group.

The new company will unite the expertise and resources of both organizations to drive better care for people who have been traditionally underserved, harnessing the opportunities that greater scale provides. While the joint company will operate as HealthRight Group, the CareOregon and SCAN Health Plan brands will continue to be used in their respective markets, the companies said in an announcement Wednesday.

Members and patients from both organizations will not experience disruption in their care, according to the announcement.

“For far too long, America’s not-for-profit managed care organizations have operated at a scale disadvantage to their larger for-profit competitors. HealthRight aims to bring together two complementary organizations to benefit from greater scale, while maintaining focus on the people and communities they serve,” Sachin Jain, M.D., SCAN Health Group CEO, said in the release.

Linda Rosenstock, M.D., SCAN Group's board chair, will become the chair of the new combined board. Four members of the CareOregon board will join, and it will retain its existing membership from SCAN. 

Jain will become CEO of HealthRight, and CareOregon CEO Eric Hunter will continue in that role as well as become president of HealthRight's Medicaid division. CareOregon will also maintain a separate board, its staffing and community councils once the merger is completed, according to the announcement.

“What makes this process so unique is that it is additive. We are coming together as community-based healthcare organizations that are driven by local community needs, and we’re building on that,” Hunter said in the release.

In addition to the two health plan arms, HealthRight will operate a diversified business unit that combines assets from both SCAN and CareOregon, including Welcome Health, a home-based primary care group for seniors; HouseCall Providers, an in-home primary and palliative care provider; MyPlace Health, a joint venture between SCAN and the Commonwealth Care Alliance; Healthcare in Action, a medical group for homeless patients; and Home Base Medical, which aims to improve chronic care management and palliative care for Medicare beneficiaries.

CareOregon will also launch a new foundation aimed at improving health in Oregon communities, according to the release.

The two insurers expect the merger to close in 2023, pending regulatory approvals.