In January of 2011, Harvard Pilgrim and Tufts announced an attempted merger that was ultimately called off. Both companies found that they were stronger as separate companies than they would be if they were to merge. Now, a decade later, Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan have officially merged. As of January 1, 2021,  the merger was official, resulting in one of the region’s largest health care organizations said to serve 2.4 million members.

With this new merge comes new questions and concerns and during an interview, new Chief Executive Officer Tom Croswell addressed the following:

1. No benefit changes are planned for 2021 due to the merger.
2. Tom Croswell (CEO of Tufts Health Plan) will head as CEO. Michael Carson (CEO and president of Harvard Pilgrim) will become president of the combined organization.
3. It will be renamed. The new name is set to be released during the second quarter of 2021.
4. The combined organization will be relocating to Canton, Massachusetts during the fourth quarter of 2021.
5. Immediate focus is on the COVID-19 pandemic. $1 million was initially invested to support education, awareness and outreach about the coronavirus and the vaccine.

As a result of the merger, Tufts Health Plan had to divest one of its commercial subsidiaries, Tufts Health Freedom Plan. The Department of Justice announced that in order for the Harvard Pilgrim and Tufts Health merger to move forward, the divestiture is required. The DOJ also announced that UnitedHealth Group was newly approved owner of Tufts Health Freedom.