Bright Health is moving its headquarters from Minnesota to Florida and is changing its name to NeueHealth.
The Bloomington-based company is adopting the name of its division for running medical clinics after exiting the individual health insurance business. Bright Health says the headquarters shift will not affect jobs in the Twin Cities, where it continues to operate certain corporate and administrative functions.
The move out of state is the latest in a stunning freefall at what once was a darling of the Twin Cities startup community. Bright Health's debut on the stock exchange was the largest initial public offering for any Minnesota-based company.
NeueHealth did not immediately respond to an email asking how many people it currently employs in Minnesota.
Bright Health was founded as a health insurer in 2015 and quickly saw meteoric growth. Its leadership and strategy seemed to be imitating the success of Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group, which influences health insurance markets across the country.
In 2022, Bright Health insured more than 1 million people who enrolled in individual market health plans — policies that typically are sold through "Obamacare" health exchanges. At the time, the company also covered about 125,000 seniors in Medicare Advantage plans.
But Bright Health has since completely jettisoned the health insurance business after suffering huge financial losses. The company is now focused on what was once its smaller NeueHealth division, which owns and manages medical clinics in Florida and elsewhere.
"Our NeueHealth identity has been a core and successful part of our organization's story, and we look forward to building on its strong performance as we take the lead in the industry's shift to value-based care," Mike Mikan, the company's chief executive, said in a statement.
At the end of 2022, overall employment was 2,820 people, according to a regulatory filing. In February 2023, the company announced it was eliminating 68 jobs at its Bloomington headquarters.
