A well-placed industry exec shot me a note late last week re yet another TPA deal; Ohio-based Avizent will buy FARA, a Louisiana-based TPA.
Terms weren’t available, but there’s a bit of an outcry over the deal from some folks in Louisiana. Evidently FARA recently took over administration of the State’s Office of Risk Management as part of Gov Bobby Jindal’s privatization initiative. The deal was worth some $68 million to FARA (there was an increase of some $7 million that sparked heated comments by at least one LA legislator).
That increase seemed to fall just within the boundaries of the law, which enable an agency to increase funding up to 10% of the original contract value.
There are a couple other potential deals out there now; xChanging (formerly Cambridge) is rumored to be close to a sale to one of two very large TPAs.
I’d expect more to come in the not-too-distant future.
Much more.

From the “shameless commerce division” of Health Strategy Associates, LLC – a Webinar reporting on our First Annual Survey of Workers Comp Claims IT Systems is coming up later this week – Thursday from 1:30 – 2:30 pm eastern, to be exact.
The Survey obtained input from front-line folks and execs in claims and IT, and we’ll be comparing and contrasting responses to show where there’s a disconnect/differences in opinions between the two groups. You’ll also find out about:
– decision processes,
– what execs are looking for in their new systems,
– the limitations of their current systems,
-pricing methodologies, and
– respondents’ opinions on vendors.
You can sign up by clicking here.
The webinar will be conducted by myself and Sandy Blunt; all attendees will get a detailed copy of the Survey Report as well.
From the Survey, here’s one not-surprising-and-quite-revealing item:
88% of the front-line representatives and managers said their current system is NOT fully integrated with their bill review and utilization review system (75% wish that it was); conversely, 68% of the executive leadership responses state that their system IS fully integrated with their bill review and utilization review system.
Lots more to present on Thursday at 1:30 eastern.

While there weren’t a plethora of deals announced at RIMS last week, that’s not due to a lack of activity.
The pending changes to tax rates (without another extension, capital gains will go up at the end of 2012) make it imperative that deals get closed before 12/31/2012. But it’s not just the tax code that’s driving activity. The continued soft market and drop in frequency during the recession have been particularly tough on TPAs; many work comp service companies are also hurting, while others look to be nearing the end of their initial run and readying themselves for the ‘equity event’.
Among TPAs, xChanging is nearing a deal to sell its former Cambridge TPA. A couple of suitors are still in the mix, both are big TPAs looking to get even bigger. Expect this to get done within a month or so, and at a price that will surprise.
The Align Networks deal is moving forward as well, with the field of potential acquirers now narrowed down. Financial suitors are rumored to be quite interested, but there remains interest from some looking to combine Align with other assets. I’m speculating here; my guess is it will be a financial buyer smitten by the company’s rapid growth and rosy outlook.
Unless… someone buys both Align and Universal SmartComp and puts them together in a bid to topple MedRisk (current HSA consulting client) from its long held position as the dominant player in the work comp physical medicine sector. I don’t see how that would work as the business/operational models are markedly different. Moreover, a lot of the ‘value’ of the assets lies in their network contracts, which would be redundant in any deal.
There are a couple of other deals rumored to be in the offing, but nothing verifiable as of yesterday. We’ll keep you posted.
Finally, there were rampant rumors at RIMS that one of the big PBMs was about to be sold; not true.