Yes, this appears to be the case. Medscape reports:
In one of the largest healthcare deals to date, Kaiser Permanente is acquiring Pennsylvania-based Geisinger Health and investing $5 billion to fold it into a new nonprofit subsidiary called Risant Health, which is set to purchase additional medical groups in coming years.
While regulators still must review this initial acquisition, the marriage of Kaiser and Geisinger would create a behemoth with more than $100 billion in annual revenue — 95% of it coming from the Kaiser side of the equation.
Becker’s Hospital Review adds some details today:
- When the deal close: 2024 (pending regulatory approval)
- Investment level. This may be as high as $5 billion with Kaiser investing a minimum of $400m in the 5 years after close. However, this investment will include funds generated from the new Risant Health non-profit entity.
- Expansion. Kaiser is putting up at least $100m to have Geisinger expand to contiguous areas in Pennsylvania.
According to an editorial by Gail R. Wilensky, PhD, Sherry A. Glied, PhD, and Thomas H. Lee–all board members at Geisinger, the new Risant Health entity will make:
investments in innovative care models, technology, facilities and ‘next-gen’ capabilities such as digital tools that will offer an enhanced patient, member and provider experience”
The resulting technology and expertise stack would be made available to health systems that participate in Risant Health. It will be interesting to see if the Kaiser-Geisinger merger is approved and if so how this new entity evolves over time.