Network Health In Partnership Talks With Tufts Health Plan

Another health insurance acquisition is in the works.

Tufts Health Plan is talking about buying a majority stake in a small health insurance plan, Network Health. It covers 170,000 low- and moderate-income residents who get free or subsidized insurance through the state.

Network Health is owned by Cambridge Health Alliance (CHA) and has recently been one of the few profitable parts of that network.

The deal would give CHA some much-needed cash for Cambridge Hospital and help its health plan expand into New Hampshire, where Tufts already sells insurance. The deal would let Tufts expand into the Medicaid market.

Tufts CEO James Roosevelt Jr. says the talks with Network Health are “completely separate from any conversations with (its proposed merger partner) Harvard Pilgrim Health Care."