Anthem's (ANTM) Beacon Health Buyout To Bolster Portfolio

Anthem, Inc. (NYSE:ANTM) recently completed the pending buyout of Beacon Health Options, the largest independently-held behavioral health organization in the country, which caters to more than 36 million people across 50 states. With this deal, Beacon Health will operate as a wholly-owned unit of Anthem and its associates will join Anthem’s Diversified Business Group.

Rationale Behind the Deal

The deal brings together Anthem’s solid behavioral health capabilities and Beacon Health’s successful model and support services to result in better health outcome.

The transaction perfectly complements Anthem’s strategy to foray into health services and provide advanced integrated services and care delivery models that dispense tailor-made care for patients suffering chronic conditions.

Notably, patients will be able to gain from wider provider networks and easy accessibility to personalized behavioral health services. Both companies share the same vision to improve the health conditions of communities through better healthcare amenities.

Acquisition Story

Acquisitions have helped the company boost its Medicare Advantage plan and add value to its business portfolio. Inorganic actions have always determined its major growth trajectory. Some of the most remarkable buyouts are America’s 1st Choice of South Carolina, Inc. and CVS Health (NYSE:CVS) in 2018 and 2017, respectively.

Anthem’s acquisitions of Missouri and Nebraska Medicaid plans of WellCare Health also added around 300000 Medicaid members under its coverage. All these initiatives poise the company well for long-term growth.

Shares of this Zacks Rank #4 (Sell) company have lost 7.2% in a year's time against its industry's increase of 9.5%.

Consequently, the stock price looks subdued against the returns of The Joint Corp. (NASDAQ:JYNT) , UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) and Cigna Corporation (NYSE:CI) , which have gained 22.6%, 15.8% and 13.2%, respectively, over the same time frame. You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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