Universal Care Inc. has unloaded its San Diego County Medi-Cal and Healthy Families businesses to Molina Healthcare Inc.
The agreement, which still has to be approved by state regulators, would consolidate Long Beach-based Molina’s growing presence in the San Diego market. In November, Molina purchased the same two lines of business from Sharp Health Plan for $25 million.
It also gives Universal Care a cash infusion of $6.2 million.
Universal, based in Signal Hill, was put on watch by the Department of Managed Health Care after posting a $5.1 million loss in the fiscal year ended June 30, 2003, but its position has improved. It posted a $4.1 million profit in its 2004 fiscal year.
Jay Davis, the company’s executive vice president, said the proceeds will help improve the insurer’s capitalization level, which already is nearly twice the state minimum as measured by a key financial indicator.
“It will go straight to the company,” said Davis, son of owner Howard Davis. “Molina Healthcare made us an offer too good to refuse.”
Lynne Randolph, a spokeswoman for the state managed care department, agreed that the insurer’s financial health had improved, but said it remains on watch for now and it’s unclear when it will come off that status.
Universal has blamed its past troubles on a bad contract with the California Public Employees’ Retirement System and the liquidation of an affiliate in Tennessee that operated in that state’s troubled Medicaid program.
Grand Opening
Providence Saint Joseph Medical Center’s $71 million, seven-story tower will open for business Jan. 15, part of a larger $164 million makeover of the hospital in order to meet new state seismic standards.
The 200,000-square-foot tower includes 128 patient rooms, surgery suites with advanced computer communications equipment, a laboratory, imaging department, neonatal intensive care unit and labor and delivery rooms.
An older tower at the hospital will be demolished next year and replaced with extensive gardens, including a koi pond, a grove of shrubs and a meditative labyrinth.
The project is being funded with $88 million in grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency, $28.8 million in loans, $28.6 million in capital funds and $18 million from voluntary contributions.
Here and There
Herbalife Ltd. has completed its initial public offering raising $200.9 million. The shares of the Los Angeles company, formerly based in the Cayman Islands, were initially priced at $14 on the New York Stock Exchange and closed at $15.98 on Dec. 28 PracticeXpert Inc., a Los Angeles management service provider for physician practices, has bought Physicians Informatics Inc., a Calabasas-based software company. The purchase price was undisclosed.
Staff reporter Laurence Darmiento can be reached at (323) 549-5225, ext. 237, or at
[email protected]
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