Mont. Blues to join Health Care Service Corp.

Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana will be joining Health Care Service Corp., which operates Blues plans in Illinois, New Mexico, Oklahoma and Texas.

The alliance will require regulatory approval and "is expected to result in additional charitable benefits to the state of Montana,” according to a news release (PDF).

The release also noted that the deal is still in the early stages and details for how the 272,000-member Montana Blues plan will work with the 13 million-member Health Care Service Corp. are still being worked out.

Health Care Service Corp. spokesman Greg Thompson said the deal is expected to close by the late spring or early summer of 2013.

Michael Frank, president and CEO of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Montana, said in the release that he believes the alliance with Health Care Service Corp. will bolster efforts to serve the “unique needs” of the state. “Being part of the largest customer-owned insurer in the country will allow us to take advantage of HCSC's scale, financial strength, and new collaborative technology and tools so that we can better serve our members and strengthen our partnership with Montana's outstanding physicians and hospitals,” Frank added.

“What we bring to the table through this alliance are additional resources to offer affordable healthcare coverage to every corner of Montana in new and innovative ways,” Patricia Hemingway Hall, president and CEO of Health Care Service Corp., said in the release.

Hemingway Hall placed 11th on Modern Healthcare's 2012 Most Influential People in Healthcare list.