Passport Health Plan to be purchased by competitor

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky-based Medicaid managed care company has agreed to be purchased by a competitor in a deal expected to preserve hundreds of jobs. The deal announced Friday calls for Passport Health Plan to be purchased by Molina Healthcare of California. Molina says the purchase price is about $20 million. The announcement comes six weeks after Passport was shut out of a new state Medicaid contract — which could have spelled the demise of the Louisville-based company. Molina was one of the successful bidders for Kentucky’s multi-billion-dollar Medicaid plan that covers 1.4 million people.