Elevance Health Plans to Acquire TX-Based Infusion Therapy Provider

Elevance Health has entered into an agreement to acquire infusion therapy provider Paragon Healthcare, improving access to specialty medication for members, the payer announced.

Elevance Health plans to buy the company from Peak Rock Capital, a private equity firm, in a transaction valued at more than $1 billion, according to Axios.

“The acquisition of Paragon Healthcare will deepen our capabilities around providing affordable, convenient access to specialty medications and best-in-class services for our members living with chronic and complex illnesses,” Pete Haytaian, executive vice president of Elevance Health and president of Carelon, said in the press release.

“Together, Elevance Health and Paragon Healthcare will have the ability to provide members with greater choice on the most appropriate site of care options, such as ambulatory or in-home locations, which will remove barriers to care and better support members’ whole health.”

Paragon Healthcare, headquartered in Plano, Texas, serves more than 35,000 patients at over 40 ambulatory infusion centers across eight states. The organization also provides infusion services to patients at home and has 24/7 on-call support for over 300 health conditions, according to the press release.

Elevance Health plans to expand Paragon Healthcare’s geographical reach and improve its therapeutic coverage if the acquisition is finalized. Paragon Healthcare patients receiving both medical and pharmacy benefits from Elevance Health’s subsidiaries will also benefit from the payer’s ability to leverage medical and pharmacy data to provide health insights.

Following the potential acquisition, Paragon Health will operate as a part of CarelonRx, the pharmacy services segment in Elevance Health’s health services division Carelon.

The deal is expected to close in the first half of 2024, pending customary closing conditions.

In early 2023, Elevance Health finalized its acquisition of specialty pharmacy BioPlus, purchased from CarepathRx. The organization provides specialty pharmacy services for patients with complex and chronic conditions, including cancer, multiple sclerosis, hepatitis C, autoimmune diseases, and rheumatology.

Outside of the pharmacy space, Elevance Health announced plans to acquire Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Louisiana (BCBSLA) in January 2023, but the proposal has received regulatory pushback.

Based on data from 2021 and 2022, Elevance Health is one of the top five largest health insurance payers in the United States. Coming in second to UnitedHealth Group, Elevance Health’s 2022 net revenues totaled $156 billion, while enrollment hit 47.5 million members.