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The Fortune 100 managed healthcare giant Aetna has announced its intention to acquire bswift, the successful Chicago-built platform for health insurance exchanges. The deal is expected to close by the end of the year at an estimated price of $400 million. Bswift will retain its management structure and operate as a separate business within the structure of Aetna.
“We at bswift are thrilled to become a part of Aetna at such a pivotal time in the transformation of the health care system,” said bswift CEO Rich Gallun in a statement. “Together, bswift and Aetna can contribute to more affordable health care by engaging, educating and empowering consumers to make value-based decisions."
Aetna plans to use bswift's tech innovations to better serve its existing clients and customers. "Aetna will help expand the reach of our technology and benefits services with a goal of creating a true consumer marketplace for health care," said Gallun. "We look forward to continuing the growth of our core business with employers, brokers, carriers and other organizations, in addition to adding more business by working with Aetna.”
Last week, bswift came in at a strong #29 on our list of the top 100 digital companies in Chicago. With the dramatic changes to healthcare during the Obama years, its user-friendly service, including an interactive assistant named 'Emma,' has had a value proposition impossible for big players such as Aetna to ignore.
“Selecting a health plan is an important decision and bswift’s consumer shopping, buying, enrolling and decision-support features will help simplify what can be a confusing experience,” said Dijuana Lewis, Aetna's VP of consumer products and enterprise marketing, in a statement. “This acquisition will help Aetna advance our consumer vision to transform the health benefits industry to a retail model that is consumer-centric, affordable and convenient.”
