Molina to buy Wisconsin insurer for $150M

By Jessica Kim Cohen / July 13, 2022

Molina Healthcare plans to acquire a Medicaid managed care organization in Wisconsin for about $150 million, the insurer said Wednesday.

Under terms of the agreement, Long Beach, California-based Molina said it will purchase substantially all the assets of My Choice Wisconsin.

Molina plans to fund the transaction with cash on hand and expects it to close later this year. Molina said it will be immediately accretive to Molina's adjusted earnings per share.

"The addition of My Choice Wisconsin to Molina's expanding footprint is not only complementary to our existing Medicaid business in Wisconsin, but also representative of our strategic growth initiatives," Joe Zubretsky, Molina's president and CEO, said in a news release.

The My Choice Wisconsin acquisition will support Molina Healthcare's growing managed long-term services and supports business and its core Medicaid business in Wisconsin, according to the insurer. As of May, My Choice Wisconsin served more than 44,000 members in those areas.

Molina Healthcare has been bolstering its Medicaid portfolio through acquisitions. In 2020, Molina acquired Louisville, Kentucky-based Passport Health Plan's Medicaid and dual eligible special needs lines of business and Pittsford, New York-based YourCare Health Plan.

Molina posted $7.8 billion in revenue for this year's first quarter, up 19.1% from the year-ago quarter. That includes $7.5 billion in premium revenue, up 19.4% year-over-year. The insurer attributed that growth to acquisitions and increased organic membership in its Medicaid and Medicare lines of business.

The company reported $258 million in first-quarter net income, up 13.2%. Molina Healthcare will report its second-quarter earnings results July 27.