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Cone fully acquires Medicare Advantage plan from Novant

This story was originally published on Healthcare Dive. To receive daily news and insights, subscribe to our free daily Healthcare Dive newsletter. Cone Health has purchased the remaining ownership of HealthTeam Advantage from Novant Health, leaving Cone the sole owner of the Medicare Advantage payer. HealthTeam Advantage has 22,000 members across six MA plans in North Carolina. The ownership change shouldn't affect their coverage or provider networks, Brendan Hodges, HealthTeam Advantage's CEO, said in a statement. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Cone launched TeamHealth Advantage in 2015 as a joint venture with Care N' Care, a Texas-based MA provider owned by medical group Southwestern Health Resources. Care N' Care exited the venture in 2017 and has since been shut down. Novant acquired a minority interest in the MA plan, which sells PPO and HMO products, in 2022. But now, the 19-hospital system is exercising its right to sell its stake in HealthTeam Advantage back to Cone, according to Tuesday's release. The deal comes as Cone, a five-hospital health system based in Greensboro, North Carolina, is focusing on growing its insurance offerings, including in MA. With the purchase, Cone is doubling down on a program that has potential to yield high profits but has been marked by significant turmoil in recent years as costs spiked for Medicare seniors beyond reimbursement levels and regulators attempted to curb practices like upcoding. In December, Cone was acquired by Risant Health, the nonprofit hospital venture launched by Kaiser Permanente. Risant plans to invest at least $1.4 billion into Cone over the next five years to develop Cone's facilities and integrate the system into Risant. Novant, meanwhile, has been focusing on expanding its medical facilities in the Southeast as it competes with Charlotte, North Carolina-based Advocate Health for influence in the region. Recommended Reading Risant Health completes acquisition of Cone Health