Tufts Health Plan

Last updated
Tufts Health Plan [1]
Industry Medical industry
Founded1979
FateMerged with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care to form Point32Health
SuccessorPoint32Health
Headquarters
705 Mt Auburn St
Watertown, Massachusetts
Area served
Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island
Key people
Thomas A. Croswell (CEO)
Products Health insurance
Number of employees
2,400
Website tuftshealthplan.com

Tufts Health Plan was a Massachusetts-based non-profit health insurance company under Tufts Associated Health Plans, Inc. with headquarters in Watertown, Massachusetts. [1] It completed a merger with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care on January 1, 2021, making the then unnamed company the second-largest health insurer in Massachusetts. [2] [3] The merger had been announced on August 14, 2019; the combined company serves 2.4 million members in Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. [4] [5] On June 15, 2021, the new name of the parent company was announced as Point32Health, named for the 32 points on a compass. [6]

Contents

Tufts Health Plan was founded in 1979 by Morton Madoff., M.D., dean of Tufts University School of Medicine. As of May 2019, the organization had over 1 million members. The Tufts Health Plan network includes 110 hospitals and 51,000+ health care providers. The health plan offers products for employers, individuals enrolled in Medicare, Medicaid the Massachusetts Health Insurance Exchange, and individuals who are dually eligible for Medicare and Medicaid. Tufts Health Plan is the only insurer in Massachusetts to cover everyone, regardless of age or income.

History

Morton Madoff, M.D., of Tufts University Medical School, founded Tufts Associated Health Maintenance Organization, Inc. in 1979. The organization started offering plans in 1981, ending its first year with 3,000 members.

In 1994, Tufts Health Plan entered the Medicare market with Secure Horizons and utilized value-based contracts to achieve better health outcomes for members and better control costs.[ citation needed ]

In 1995, Tufts Health Plan launched its first PPO (preferred provider organization) plans. In 1996 Tufts Health Plan was ranked as a top HMO provider in the United States by Newsweek. [7]

In 2008, Tufts Health Plan created the Tufts Health Plan Foundation so the health plan's assets could help address long-standing health care issues in the local community. The foundation funds approximately $5 million annually in investments and grants to local non-profits. [8]

In 2009, Tufts Health Plan entered the Rhode Island market, offering employer-sponsored plans.

In 2011, Tufts Health Plan acquired Network Health, a Medicaid plan. [9]

In 2015, Tufts Health Plan acquired Integra Partners, a medical equipment and prosthetics management company backed by Peterson Partners. [10]

Also in 2015, Tufts Health Plan entered into a joint venture with Granite Health, a network of five health systems, creating Tufts Health Freedom Plan of New Hampshire. [11]

In 2016, the company transformed core business operations to HealthEdge. [12]

In 2017, Tufts Health Plan signed contracts to form Medicaid (MassHealth) Accountable Care Organization (ACO) partnerships with four provider organizations: Atrius Health, Beth Israel Deaconess Care Organization, Cambridge Health Alliance, and Boston Children's Accountable Care Organization. Also in 2017, Tufts Health Plan entered the Rhode Island Medicaid market.[ citation needed ]

In February 2018, Tufts Health Plan entered into a joint venture with Hartford HealthCare, creating CarePartners of Connecticut, which offers Medicare Advantage plans to eligible beneficiaries. [13]

On January 26, 2021, Tufts Health Plan announced the completion of their merger with Harvard Pilgrim Health Care. [14]

In July 2021, Tufts Health Plan awarded the Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership with a grant of $170,000. [15]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Company Profile: Standardizing Quality Health Care | Tufts Health Plan". tuftshealthplan.com. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  2. Tufts and Harvard Pilgrim complete merger, creating big new health insurer
  3. "News Detail | Harvard Pilgrim Health Care". www.harvardpilgrim.org. Retrieved 2021-05-26.
  4. Staff Writer (2019-08-14). "Tufts Health Plan, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care are combining". The Boston Globe . Retrieved 2019-08-14.
  5. "Tufts Health Plan for the Self-Employed in Massachusetts | NASRO". nasro-co-op.com. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  6. Dayal McCluskey, Priyanka (June 16, 2021). "The state's second-biggest health insurer has a buzzy new name - The Boston Globe". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  7. "Does Your HMO Stack Up - Newsweek". Newsweek . 23 June 1996. Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  8. "Tufts Health Plan Fact Sheet" . Retrieved 2019-07-19.
  9. Saia, Rick (2 November 2011). "Tufts Health Plan Acquires Network Health". WB Journal. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  10. "Peterson Partners » Tufts Health Plan Acquires Peterson Partners-Backed Integra Partners". www.petersonpartners.com. Retrieved 2016-07-19.
  11. Health, Brian Wells, President, Tufts Health Freedom Plan, Rachel Rowe is the President and CEO, Granite (27 January 2016). "Tufts Health Freedom Plan, Granite Health leaders: Why we teamed up for Tufts Health Freedom Plan in New Hampshire". www.beckershospitalreview.com. Retrieved 2016-07-19.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  12. "Tufts Health Plan Selects HealthEdge to Transform Core Business Operations | HealthEdge". www.healthedge.com. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  13. Gosselin, Kenneth (28 February 2018). "Hartford HealthCare, Tufts Health Plan Join Forces To Create Insurance Company". Hartford Courant. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  14. "Tufts Health Plan & Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Merger | Mass.gov". www.mass.gov. Retrieved 2021-07-23.
  15. "Tufts Health Plan Foundation awards $170,000 to Metropolitan Boston Housing Partnership". Metro Housing Boston. 2016-07-05. Retrieved 2021-07-23.