Westly Announces Opposition to PacifiCare, UnitedHealth Merger
Controller Steve Westly (D), who is running for governor in 2006, on Friday announced his opposition to UnitedHealth Group's proposed $8.1 billion acquisition of PacifiCare Health Systems, the Los Angeles Times reports (Vrana, Los Angeles Times, 10/1).
The deal would provide UnitedHealth with access to the 716,000 PacifiCare members enrolled in Medicare plans and the 2.5 million members enrolled in commercial plans in California, Washington state, Oregon and Nevada. The acquisition would increase the membership of UnitedHealth, the second-largest health insurer in the nation, to 25 million.
The deal, scheduled to be completed by Feb. 1, 2006, requires approval by the firms' shareholders and in California by the Attorney General, the Department of Managed Health Care and the Department of Insurance (California Healthline, 9/16).