CT health plan with 140K members to be acquired by another insurer in $350 million deal

The parent of a health insurer with 140,000 members in Connecticut said Tuesday it has agreed to sell the company to California-based Molina Healthcare for $350 million in cash in a deal expected to close in 2025.

EmblemHealth Inc., headquartered in New York, has owned Farmington-based ConnectiCare since 2005.

“The addition of ConnectiCare to Molina brings a well-rounded government-sponsored health care plan, and a new state, to our portfolio,” Molina’s president and chief executive Joe Zubretsky said, in a statement.

Zubretsky said the deal is a strong strategic fit for Molina, but indicated there could be changes coming as the health care company applies “the standard Molina playbook.”

Zubretsky is a former senior executive at Hartford-based health insurer Aetna, now owned by CVS Health Corp.

Molina is a relatively small company compared with industry giants such as UnitedHealth Group and CVS Health. But Molina is a major player in the Medicaid managed care market, which is complex because of Medicaid’s structure, which varies by state.

The transaction must receive federal, state and other approvals.

Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.

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