Molina Healthcare was founded in 1980 by C. David Molina, anemergency room physician in Long Beach, California.[4] He had seen an influx of patients using the emergency room for common illnesses such as a sore throat or the flu because they were being turned away by doctors who would not acceptMedi-Cal. Molina established his first primary care clinic with the goal of treating the lowest-income patients, regardless of their ability to pay.
In September 2020, Molina Healthcare entered into an arrangement to purchase approximately all the assets of the Affinity Health Plan for about $380 million.[5]
For twenty years, the company was run by Dr. Molina's son, J. Mario Molina,MD, a physician. He was the president and CEO of the company. John Molina, Mario's younger brother, was theCFO of Molina Healthcare.[6] The two took over Molina's operations after their father died in 1996 and continued to expand the company. In May 2017 J. Mario and John were removed from their positions by the Board of Directors, who cited poor financial performance as the reason for the change in leadership. In October 2017 the company announcedJoseph Zubretsky, the former CFO of Aetna, as Molina Healthcare's president and CEO.[7]
The first Molina Medical clinic was opened in Wilmington, California in 1980. The company formerly operated clinics inWashington,New Mexico,Florida andUtah.[8][9] The clinics were opened to provide health care to low-income families and individuals. In August 2017 Molina Healthcare announced it would close several clinics in Michigan, Florida, New Mexico, Wisconsin, and Utah.[10]
Molina Healthcare has focused on government-paid healthcare programs such asSCHIP andMedicaid since it became ahealth maintenance organization in 1985. From 1985 to 1997, the company was based solely in California.
2015: Molina Healthcare ofWashington is the first health care company in the state to cover "Virtual Urgent Care" services.
2015: Molina Healthcare acquires Medicaid assets of Integral Health Plan, Inc. in Florida.[22]
2015: Molina Healthcare acquires Providence Human Services and Community Services fromProvidence Service Corporation and renames them Pathways.[22]
2015: Molina Healthcare adds online access to behavioral health.[23]
2015: Molina Healthcare acquires HealthPlus MIChild and Medicaid programs ofMichigan.[24]
2015: Molina Healthcare acquires assets of Loyola Physician Partners' Medicaid Program ofIllinois.[25]
2017: Molina Healthcare exits the individual Marketplace inUtah andWisconsin.[26]
2018: Molina Healthcare loses Medicaid contract with the state of New Mexico.[27]
2018: Molina Healthcare sells Pathways to Altar Capital[28]
2019: Molina Healthcare loses Medicaid contract with the state of Texas.[29]
2020: Molina Healthcare acquires Passport Health Plan in Kentucky.[30]
2021: Molina Healthcare acquires Magellan Complete Care line of business fromMagellan Health, Inc.[31] With this acquisition, Molina enters Arizona, Massachusetts, and Virginia.[32]
2021: Molina Healthcare acquires Affinity Health Plan in New York.[33]
2021: Molina Healthcare acquiresCigna's Medicaid contracts in Texas.[34]
Molina Healthcare filed with theSecurities and Exchange Commission for an initial stock offering in December 2002 and went public in July 2003 with a stock offering of $102 million. The shares were priced at $17.50, and Molina raised approximately $124 million in theinitial public offering.[36] In its stock market debut, Molina sold 6.6 million shares at $20.30, making the company the third-best first day gainer of 2003.[37] Molina Healthcare was the first company fromInc. Magazine's "Inner City 100" list to go public.[38]
Molina Healthcare entered theMedicare market in 2006. The company currently offers Medicare health plan options in: Arizona, California, Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Mexico, New York, Ohio, South Carolina, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin.[39][27]
Molina Healthcare acquiredUnisys' health information management business in December 2010 to create Molina Medicaid Solutions (MMS).[40] MMS has Medicaid Management Information Systems (MMIS) contracts withIdaho,Louisiana,Maine,New Jersey,West Virginia and the U.S. Virgin Islands. In Autumn 2018, Molina Healthcare, Inc. sold its Medicaid management information systems business, Molina Medicaid Solutions (MMS), toDXC Technology. MMS was a wholly owned subsidiary of Molina Healthcare at the time of sale.[41][42][43]
In 2014, Molina Healthcare began offeringMarketplace plans in nine states where it offeredMedicaid health plans throughState Facilitated Marketplaces andFederally Facilitated Marketplace.[44] On November 16, 2016 theSeattle Times reported that about 11 million people currently get their coverage through the exchange.[45] In August 2017 Molina announced it would stop offering plans on the health insurance marketplaces in Utah, Wisconsin, and Maine in 2018.[26]
Molina was selected to participate in dual eligible demonstration projects in California,[46] Ohio,[47] Illinois,[48] Michigan,[49] South Carolina[50] and Texas[50] to serve patients who are eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid.
A 2023 report investigating "High Rates of PriorAuthorization Denials" reported that Molina Healthcare'sMedicaid plans for financially vulnerable people had some of the highest denial percentages in the country.[51][52] It was reported, that Molina Healthcare operated plans that denied medical care under requests for prior authorization of services in more than 25% of cases in 2019. About 2.7 million people were enrolled in these plans at the time, while another 8.4 million people were enrolled in plans with denial rates higher than average at 15-25%. Some plans had even higher denial rates, as their Illinois plan 41% of requests.
In May 2022, MolinaCares presented a $100,000 grant to support Compass Health's Broadway Campus Redevelopment Project. The grant will aid funding of construction of a 72,000 square-foot, state-of-the-art facility that will expand community-based behavioural health care services and its workforce in northwest Washington.[53]
Molina Healthcare was awarded the 2011 Alfred P. Sloan Award for Business Excellence in Workplace Flexibility. The award ranked Molina Healthcare in the top 20 percent of employers nationally in terms of its programs, policies and culture for creating an effective and flexible workplace.[54] In 2006, Molina Healthcare was named among the 100 best corporate citizens byBusiness Ethics magazine.[55] In 2005,Time magazine recognized Dr. J. Mario Molina, then CEO of Molina Healthcare, as one of the 25 most influential Hispanics in America.[56]
The company ranked 155th on the 2021Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue.[57] The company ranked 126th on the 2023Fortune 500 list of the largest United States corporations by revenue.[58]
US$40.7 billion (2024)
