Anthem Agrees to Add Palliative Care Provider
(Image courtesy of Aspire Health.)
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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowIndianapolis-based Anthem Inc. (NYSE: ANTM) has agreed to acquire Aspire Health of Tennessee. The non-hospice palliative care provider is considered the largest company of its kind in the United States. The Aspire Health footprint covers 25 states and it has contracts with more than 20 health plans.
Terms of the transaction are not being disclosed. Anthem Chief Executive Officer Gail Boudreaux says "Anthem is focused on enhancing our ability to offer innovative, integrated clinical care models that can improve the quality of healthcare and deliver better outcomes. Aspire Health shares our perspective on the increasingly important role of integrated care and has built a unique model that provides palliative care and support services for patients and their families. With the addition of Aspire Health to Anthem’s other clinical care assets such as CareMore Health and AIM, we will be able to offer our consumers, customers, and other health plan and provider partners a broader array of programs and services that meet their diverse needs and drive future growth opportunities for our company."
The move follows Anthem’s announcement to remain headquartered in Indianapolis and make a $20 million investment in its home office.
Aspire, which was founded in 2013, says it provides an "extra layer of support" for patients, including symptom management, patient-family, communication, advance care planning and coordination with other health care professionals.
CEO Brad Smith says "several studies have repeatedly demonstrated how advanced illness programs can provide high patient and family satisfaction, reduce hospitalization, and decrease costs. As part of Anthem, we believe we will be able to further scale our model and positively impact the lives of even more consumers and families, making home-based advanced illness care available to patients who need it."
The deal is expected to close in the third quarter.