Columbia / HCA to Buy Value Health
Times Staff and Wire Reports
Columbia/HCA Healthcare Corp. said it will buy managed-care company Value Health Inc. for $1.3 billion, canceling Value Health’s plans to spin off its lucrative pharmacy benefit management business to shareholders. For aggressive Columbia/HCA, the nation’s largest for-profit hospital chain, the proposed deal continues its efforts to become a full-service health-care network. In addition to hospitals and benefits management, Columbia/HCA of Louisville, Ky., runs outpatient surgery centers, home health agencies, nursing homes, psychiatric hospitals and physical rehabilitation centers. Value Health, based in Avon, Conn., also has mental health and substance abuse management, workers’ compensation and disease management businesses.
