Harvard Pilgrim Health Care


Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is a not-for-profit health services company based in the New England region of the United States.
On August 14, 2019, the boards of Harvard Pilgrim Health Care and Tufts Health Plan announced plans for the two insurers to merge their organizations into a new company. The new, yet to be named company, will serve 2.4 million members in Massachusetts, Maine, Connecticut, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island. The merger will require the approval of numerous federal and state regulators and the two companies will remain independent during the approval steps.

Overview

Harvard Pilgrim Health Care was formed in 1994 from the merger of the Harvard Community Health Plan and the Pilgrim Health Plan. Harvard Community Health Plan had been founded in 1969. One of its founders was Maurice Lazarus.
Harvard Pilgrim provides clinical programs, customer service, health improvement strategies and innovative tools.
Harvard Pilgrim is home to the Harvard Pilgrim Health Care Institute, a collaboration with Harvard Medical School. As Harvard Medical School’s Department of Population Medicine, the Institute is the only appointing department of a U.S. medical school housed within a health plan. Funded primarily through external government and private sources, it provides information to the health care system on issues affecting population health and health care delivery.
Harvard Pilgrim is among America’s highest-rated health plans according to an annual ranking by the National Committee for Quality Assurance. Harvard Pilgrim Health Care is currently rated 5 out of 5 for its private HMO/POS and PPO plans and Harvard Pilgrim Health Care of New England is currently rated 4.5 out of 5 for its private HMO/POS plans in NCQA’s Private Health Insurance Plan Ratings 2015-16.

Awards and recognition