Revenue-cycle management company Emdeon has acquired price transparency tool provider Change Healthcare in a deal potentially worth $185 million.
Change Healthcare has reported rapid growth in recent months. The firm provides price transparency tools for insurers and large self-insured employers. Change Healthcare CEO Douglas Ghertner said in an interview that the firm only had 200,000 lives on its platform at the beginning of 2013; now, it has just short of 10 million lives under contract.
Ghertner expects Emdeon's connections with insurers and providers to spur a greater uptake of the Change Healthcare platform.
The firm periodically reaches out to consumers about frequent expenses and possible savings, such as medication refills or physical therapy. Such proactive outreach helps consumers realize savings for that particular service, while reminding them that the firm's services exist and that they should use it for big-ticket items like an MRI, the company says.
The deal is expected to officially close in a few weeks, Ghertner said. Of the total purchase price, $135 million will be payable at closing, with an additional $50 million available in performance-based incentives. Both firms are based in Nashville.
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