Aug. 21--INSURANCE -- INSURANCE

Insurer Aetna acquires managed care provider

Aetna is the latest major health insurer to announce an acquisition to increase its Medicare and Medicaid business, saying Monday it has reached a definitive agreement to acquire Coventry Health Care Inc.

The $7.3 billion deal between Hartford, Conn.-based Aetna and Bethesda, Md.-based Coventry will grow Aetna's Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D business lines, as well as increase Aetna's Medicaid base, according to the companies. Aetna now has about 700,000 Ohio members.

"Integrating Coventry into Aetna will complement our strategy to expand our core insurance business, increase our presence in the fast-growing government sector and expand our relationships with providers in local geographies," said Mark Bertolini, Aetna's chairman, CEO and president, in a statement.

The deal is subject to Coventry shareholder approval.

This joins similar announcements from other major Ohio insurance companies this year. The parent company of Anthem Blue Cross and Blue Shield in Ohio said in July it will acquire managed care provider Amerigroup Corp. to better serve Medicaid participants. Anthem's main Ohio offices are in Deerfield Twp. in Warren County. In March, Dayton-based CareSource said it will partner with Humana to serve low-income seniors dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid.

The news from Aetna comes within weeks of the company naming a new head of its Ohio and Kentucky markets, Nitin Bhargava. CHELSEY LEVINGSTON

HOSPITALS

West Chester imaging center receives quality award

The Imaging Center at University Pointe Surgical Hospital, which is affiliated with UC Health and is located on the West Chester Hospital campus, was notified this month it received the 2010/2011 APEX National Quality Award.

The award is from CTQ Solutions, a provider of patient satisfaction survey tools for health care facilities. It recognizes leading health care providers for excellence in patient satisfaction and delivery of care, according to the hospital.

The Imaging Center does diagnostic X-ray, fluoroscopy, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), computed tomography (CT) , ultrasound and bone densitometry exams, according to the hospital. STAFF REPORT

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