The public is being given another two weeks to comment on the sale of Agate Resources, the parent company of Trillium Community Health Plan, to Centene Corporation, a Fortune 500 company.
Originally, the due date for written comments was May 28. But now the public has until June 12 to make its concerns known about the potential sale to the Insurance Division, which is conducting a thorough investigation of the transaction. Written comments may be submitted via e-mail to [email protected] or by mail to Ryan Keeling, Financial Regulation Section, Oregon Insurance Division, P.O. Box 14480, Salem, OR 97309-0405.
Once the acquisition is final, Centene will become the sole shareholder of Agate Resources and all of its subsidized companies.
Agate Resources, the parent company of Trillium, is a private corporation with 217 shareholders, according to Debi Farr, director of government and public affairs, including physicians. Terry Coplin, CEO, is among the shareholders who will financially benefit once the sale is completed. Last year, Coplin earned $492,324.
Centene’s CEO and Chairman, Michael Neidorff, meanwhile, earned $19.3 million in 2014, including $13.9 million of stock. Centene’s current stock price is 69.76 a share, up 1.65 percent, and the base cash salary stands at $1.2 million, according to DeAnne Lane, spokesperson for Centene.
Trillium’s growth is on the rise, nearly doubling from 57,000 members in January 2014, to more than 100,000 members today. In 2014, Trillium closed the year with a net profit of $22 million, doubling that of 2013, when profits reached $3.9 million.
Coplin and the management team of Trillium intend to continue leading operations after the sale is completed.
Centene’s Earnings
At the end of the first quarter, Neidorff announced that Centene had a strong start in 2015, stating in a press release, “We continue to be successful in executing on our robust growth pipeline while maintaining operational discipline."
During the first quarter, its managed care membership reached 4.4 million, an increase of 1.4 million members, or 44 percent compared to the first quarter of 2014.
Premium and service revenues were $4.8 billion, representing 42 percent growth compared to the first quarter of 2014.
The health benefits ratio was 89.8 percent compared to 89.3 percent a year earlier, and the general and administrative expense ratio reached 8.5 percent, a slight drop from 8.8 percent in the first quarter of 2014. Operating cash flow was $45 million.
On March 31, the company served 331,800 Medicaid members in Medicaid expansion programs in California, Illinois, Indiana, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Ohio and Washington.
Diane can be reached at [email protected].
