CareOregon and SCAN Call Off Controversial Merger of Health Insurers

The state’s largest Medicaid insurer planned to combine with a California-based Medicare provider. After pushback, the deal is off.

Ambulances docked at Oregon Health & Science University. (Brian Burk)
By Nigel Jaquiss

A controversial combination of CareOregon, the state’s largest Medicaid insurer, and SCAN Group of California is not going to happen. The deal, announced in 2022, faced criticism from an independent oversight panel and some of the architects of the Oregon Health Plan, the state’s often innovative Medicaid program, including Dr. John Santa and former Gov. John Kitzhaber. Public comments also waved a warning flag.

The deal was pending in front of Oregon state regulators, but late Tuesday, CareOregon and SCAN issued a joint statement calling the deal off.

“SCAN and CareOregon share a commitment to preserving and protecting nonprofit, locally based healthcare and that has always been our goal in combining under the HealthRight Group,” the insurers. “Our intent in coming together was to support Oregon’s healthcare system and the people that CareOregon serves. However, despite our efforts, there are still questions about our combination. As a result, SCAN Group and CareOregon have mutually agreed to withdraw our applications with the Oregon regulatory agencies and to terminate our affiliation agreement.” 

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