Shareholders of Nashville’s HealthSpring Inc. have approved the company’s$3.8 billion merger with Bloomfield health insurer Cigna Corp.
Almost all of the 83.1 percent of shares that cast a vote favored the merger.
As part of the deal, Cigna agreed to pay $55 per share in cash for HealthSpring, which concentrates on selling Medicare Advantage plans, or privately run versions of the government’s Medicare program.
Such plans, which are subsidized by the government, are becoming very lucrative for health insurers and offer basic Medicare coverage topped with extras or premiums lower than standard Medicare rates.
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The deal still needs to get state regulatory approval but is expected to close in the first half of 2012.
