Portland hospital sells share of managed care plan

PORTLAND – After doing some soul-searching, the state’s largest hospital has decided to get out of the managed care business and refocus its attention on meeting the needs of patients.

Maine Medical Center announced Friday that it is selling its share of the Maine Partners Health Plan to Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield for $10.6 million.

The plan is one of the state’s largest, serving 60,000 residents in southern Maine. There will be no changes for the plan’s members.

Maine Medical Center and Blue Cross created the Maine Partners Health Plan in 1996 and the hospital does not regret the decision, said Vincent Conti, Maine Med’s president and chief executive officer.

But the hospital began to question the drain of resources at a time of unprecedented patient demand, Conti said. So it entered into talks with Anthem, which bought Maine’s Blue Cross in 2000.

“It was a strategic decision to take the dollars and time and devote them to patient care,” Conti said Friday.

The change must be approved by the Bureau of Insurance. Both parties hope to receive approval by the end of March.

A change in ownership would not alter member benefits or services. Maine Partners’ members will continue to use the same identification cards to utilize the same doctors and hospitals.

And the Maine Partners Health Plan will remain distinct from Anthem Blue Cross’ other managed care products serving an additional 100,000 customers, said Clark Dumont, a spokesman for the company.

Jim Parker, Anthem’s vice president and general manager in Maine, said the partnership has created a strong relationship with the hospital, local physicians and other health are providers.

The hospital’s parent company, MaineHealth, will continue to use Anthem Blue Cross and Maine Partners as administrator of its employee health coverage. Maine Medical Center has 5,000 employees.