High-Powered Steakhouse Chat with State’s Biggest Merger on the Menu
Governor meets with the president and CEO of HMSA and the president and CEO of Hawaiʻi Pacific Health, which plan to combine the state's largest insurer with the second-largest healthcare provider. Earlier he met with another executive who opposes the plan, seeking input across the spectrum while regulators review the proposed deal.
People say Honolulu is just a big, small town. Not much goes unnoticed. Especially when the state’s most powerful politician meets privately with the leaders of the state’s largest commercial enterprise, HMSA, and the second-largest healthcare provider, Hawaiʻi Pacific Health, both of which have said they want to combine operations.
That’s what took place on Wednesday evening at Morton’s, the Steakhouse, at Ala Moana Center.
Mark Mugiishi, president and CEO of Hawaii Medical Service Association (HMSA), arrived first and was escorted into a private room off the main dining area and bar. Next came Ray Vara, president and CEO of Hawai’i Pacific Health (HPH). Then Gov. Josh Green arrived and was escorted to the private dining room where he greeted the other two. At that point, the ornate, black doors were closed behind them, and other diners at one of Honolulu’s top restaurants could only wonder about what was being discussed.
The proposed combination into an organization called One Health Hawaii has been in the works for months. In April, Hawaii Business Magazine hosted a CEO Healthcare Summit, with Mugiishi and Vara among the panelists, where sharp opinions were exchanged. (Clash of Titans: Hawai‘i’s Healthcare Leaders Disagree on Best Path Forward – Hawaii Business Magazine)
A combination of the two organizations would create a behemoth with combined annual revenues topping $6 billion. The two executives say joining forces would create cost savings and lower consumer costs. Opponents say healthcare options could suffer, employees would lose jobs and costs could rise. That proposed combination is under regulatory review.
So, what was discussed among the three men?
“Lots of moving parts,” wrote Green in a text exchange the following day. “I can’t share the conversations though as of now.”
He added that earlier in the day he had met with Jason Chang, president and CEO of The Queen’s Health Systems, and with Nadine Tenn Salle, president of the Hawaii Medical Association.
But he added: “I will be at a healthcare workforce conference next weekend, and you might get some fireworks there on the matter.”
He was referring to the Annual Hawaiʻi Health Workforce Summit at the UH John A. Burns School of Medicine on Saturday when Green will be interviewed about the topic: “Hawaiʻi’s Unfinished Healthcare Agenda.”
Hawaii Business will be there, watching for fireworks.
At the end of the steakhouse meal, the three men exited the room together. No one looked unhappy. Vara waved to an acquaintance while Mugiishi greeted a friend he saw in the main dining room. And then they left.
Stay tuned.
