Mass General Brigham plans to acquire Worcester-based Fallon Health
(This story has been updated with additional information.)
A major player in Worcester’s insurance market is in the process of being acquired by a Somerville-based insurer.
Fallon Health, founded nearly a century ago in 1929 by father-and-son physicians Dr. Michael Fallon and Dr. John Fallon and initially based in the Slater Building on Main Street in Worcester, could merge with Mass General Brigham Health Plan.
It’s the beginning of a multiphase process that will require regulatory approvals, said a Mass General Brigham Health Plan spokeswoman, adding that more information will be shared in the coming months. If approved, this would bring Fallon Health and its roughly 1,250 employees, the majority of whom work in Worcester County, into Mass General Brigham.
Today, Fallon’s headquarters occupy the One Mercantile building downtown, a home it moved into in 2024.
The move announced by both companies in a Jan. 8 press release said it ensures Fallon members will continue to receive the care and support they need now and in the years ahead. There are no immediate changes for the company’s 148,000 members, said the release. Also no immediate changes to Fallon’s downtown Worcester headquarters and the company’s employees, said a Fallon spokesperson.
Mass General Brigham Health Plan has more than 400,000 members.
The joint statement said in part: “This intended approach underscores the mission-driven organizations’ shared commitments as not-for-profit health plans to broaden access and affordability, enhance care coordination, and strengthen our collective ability to serve communities across Massachusetts, with a particular focus on people covered by Medicare and Medicaid.”
Timothy Murray, president and chief executive officer at the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, described the news as a difficult decision for Fallon’s board given health care’s changing financial landscape. Murray noted Fallon’s nearly 50 years of community efforts and philanthropy that have benefited Central Massachusetts.
“It is our hope that as the leaders of Fallon Health, Mass General Brigham Health, and their boards go forward with this acquisition process, in conjunction with state regulators, that Fallon Health’s community-centered mission, presence as a major employer, and philanthropic support of the Central Mass community will continue in a strong and unabated manner for decades to come,” said Murray’s statement.
Fallon shifted from commercial products during the COVID-19 pandemic to focus on government-sponsored health insurance programs, including Medicare and Medicaid.
Contact Henry Schwan at [email protected]. Follow him on X: @henrytelegram
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