PreferredOne was purchased by University of Minnesota’s Fairview Health Services for full ownership in January 2016.
Previously, Fairview owned 50% of the company. The other half of the shares was divided between North Memorial Health Care and PreferredOne Physician Associates.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Following the acquisition, PreferredOne CEO and president David Crosby will stay in his position.
“[PreferredOne adds] expertise in care management, risk management and population health analytics,” said Fairview interim CEO David Murphy in a press release.
Fairview Health Services regent Darrin Rosha shared that he is excited to see how the provider’s expansion as insurance payer and carrier will shake up the industry. He described Fairview’s latest acquisition as “vertical integration,” allowing the provider to reach even more patients.
“For us to not be a part of that [integration] makes it challenging to find a large enough patient base,” Rosha said.
The purchase did not require the approval of the entire board of regents, Rosha said.
When asked whether the acquisition would affect the student insurance policies Fairview offered, Rosha remarked that he is unsure of what would happen.
In late 2014, PreferredOne left health exchange MNsure due to the financial losses it suffered. The company was one of the largest and most affordable providers in the exchange.
