The merger between UnitedHealthcare and Western Slope insurance provider Rocky Mountain Health Plans officially closed on Thursday.
In statements, leaders of both insurers described the merger as a “partnership,” though United will pay $36 million for Rocky, according to regulatory filings. Because Rocky is a nonprofit, the money from the sale will fund a new charitable foundation.
The deal received the required go-aheads from state officials last month.
UnitedHealthcare is one of the largest insurers in the state, covering roughly 1.2 million people. Rocky Mountain Health Plans, based in Grand Junction, primarily serves customers on the Western Slope, though it also has a significant share of Colorado’s Medicaid market.
Rocky’s CEO, Steve ErkenBrack, billed the merger in a statement as bringing together the larger company’s technology with Rocky’s long-standing relationships with local health care providers.
“The combination will benefit Coloradans, particularly in our core communities in Western and rural Colorado,” he said.
“We are confident,” Beth Soberg, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare of Colorado, said in her own statement, “this partnership will combine the best elements of two outstanding organizations to meet health care needs in our communities.”
