New York Health Carriers To Merge %28Updated%29

Group Health Inc. and HIP Health Plan of New York, 2 nonprofit health insurers, have agreed to merge.[@@]

The deal, announced just 2 days after WellPoint Inc., Indianapolis, revealed that it has agreed to acquire WellChoice Inc., New York, the parent of the New York City-area Blue Cross and Blue Shield plan, would create a combined carrier with 4 million enrollees in the New York City area, Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and some parts of New York state away from New York City.

A governing foundation that would include an equal number of directors from GHI, New York, and HIP would run the combined carrier while GHI and HIP came up with a strategy for combining their operations, according to GHI and HIP.