A bankruptcy judge has overruled last-minute objections by UnitedHealthcare to the sale of The Villages Health to Humana’s CenterWell.
The $68 million sale has now closed, marking an end to The Villages’ venture in health care. CenterWell will be taking over the health care centers spread throughout The Villages and signage is expected to be changing soon. Part of the agreement specifies that the Morse family cannot try to re-enter the health care business and compete with The Villages Health.
In July, The Villages Health announced that it was filing for bankruptcy and blamed the bankruptcy on a mysterious $360 million “Medicare coding error.” At the time of the bankruptcy announcement, UntiedHealthcare officials said they had been caught off guard. UnitedHealthcare accused the Morse family of raking in millions of dollars from The Villages Health prior to the sudden bankruptcy.
This past week, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Lori Vaughn overruled UnitedHealthcare objections to CenterWell taking over certain contracts related to the ongoing operation of The Villages Health.
In a letter to patients earlier this month, The Villages Health CEO Bobby Trinh announced that the health care centers will no longer accept UnitedHealthcare insurance after the end of 2025, unless a new contract for 2026 is reached. But that seems highly unlikely, now that Humana is calling the shots.
It’s the latest blow to UnitedHealthcare which entered into what appeared to be a promising marriage with The Villages Health nearly a decade ago.
In 2016, The Villages Health tried to force all of its patients onto the UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans, creating an uproar. Patients had been ordered to switch to UnitedHealthcare or stop receiving care at The Villages Health.
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