Anthem To Buy Simply Healthcare

Dec. 22--Another health care company is being acquired in South Florida.

Health insurance giant Anthem of Indianapolis said Monday it agreed to buy South Florida'sSimply Healthcare Holdings, which provides managed-care plans for Floridians, mainly in government-backed Medicaid and Medicare programs.

Anthem wants to acquire Simply Healthcare to expand its government business division and add more customers in Florida, "a key market for growth," a statement said

Simply Healthcare is majority-owned by Coral Gables-based investment firm MBF Healthcare Partners, led by entrepreneur and billionaire Mike Fernandez

Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Fernandez last year forecast that Simply Healthcare's revenues could reach $1 billion this year.

Simply Healthcare now provides coverage to about 200,000 Floridians for Medicaid, Medicare and HIV/AIDs care. Basketball star Earvin "Magic" Johnson is a shareholder and spokesman.

After the deal closes, probably in early 2015, Anthem expects to serve more than 500,000 members in Florida through Simply Healthcare and its other affiliated Medicaid and Medicare programs, a statement said.

Simply Healthcare will continue to operate as an Anthem subsidiary under its current name and brands.

The company is exiting the Medicare market in Broward and Palm Beach counties for 2015 but still offers its other services in the two counties, said Betsy Henao, senior director of corporate marketing.

The Anthem deal highlights the success of MBF Healthcare in building portfolio companies for sale.

Earlier this year, MBF sold the Navarro Discount Pharmacy chain it controlled to retail giant CVS Caremark. The 33-store Navarro chain, geared to Hispanics, has annual sales topping $340 million.

The Simply Healthcare deal caps a long list of health care acquisitions in South Florida this year, many linked to shifts in the industry spurred by the Affordable Health Act.

Among the biggest acquisitions in the area: Nashville-based Amsurg Corp., which runs more than 240 same-day surgery centers, bought Sunrise-based Sheridan Healthcare, the country's largest provider of anesthesia services, for $2.35 billion.

dhemlock@sunsentinel.com, 305-810-5009

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