Bupa is a healthcare organisation with bases on three continents and more than seven million customers in 192 countries.
Overview and history
Bupa was formed as The British United Provident Association in 1947 to preserve freedom of choice in health care. It was believed that with the National Health Service being introduced a year later, there would still be a need for a complementary service enabling people from all walks of life to afford the benefits of choice in where, when and by whom they were treated. Bupa is a company limited by guarantee, where any profits are reinvested within the business. Over the years it has diversified away from its core health insurance business and is presently operating as a diversified healthcare company.[1]
Bupa, when initially formed, was a health insurance provider in the UK, offering policies to individuals, companies and other organisations - this continues to be the largest business within the company and around half of Britain's top companies are presently Bupa customers.[1]
The company has its head office in central London, with main contact centres in Salford Quays and Staines. Bupa also has offices in Brighton (Bupa International), Bristol (Bupa Health Assurance), Ashford, Surrey (Information Systems) and Leeds (Bupa Care Services). The company is known for its sponsorship of main events, such as the Great Manchester Run, Great North Run, held annually in Newcastle upon Tyne, and the Great South Run, held annually in Portsmouth. Bupa staff take calls for Comic Relief during the appeal.
A global health and care specialist
Bupa is an internationally established health insurance and care specialist with services that include:
Bupa has businesses in Asia, Australia, Saudi Arabia and Thailand. It also owns several healthcare companies overseas including Spain's largest healthcare company, Sanitas, and acquired IHI Danmark (Copenhagen, Denmark) and Amedex (Miami, US) in September 2005. In November 2006, Bupa acquired Clinovia, the UK’s home healthcare specialist, in a move that gave BUPA new opportunities in the expanding out of hospital care market.
On 14 December 2006, Bupa announced it would leave the Irish market following a warning that the company would have to pay €161m over the next three years to support its main rival, Vhi Healthcare, who demanded that "risk equalisation" would be required to be subsidised from Bupa. Vhi Heathcare has more older members, which results in more claims, and that the health insurance market would need to help them, to keep providing the services. Risk equalisation between insurance funds is common practice in several European competitive insurance practice. Bupa Ireland operated from its corporate headquarters in Dublin, and its call centre in Fermoy, Co. Cork. On January 31 2007, Bupa Ireland announced a takeover agreement with Quinn Group, resulting in Bupa Ireland transferring around 750,000 members and saving over 300 jobs. [2] The takeover was concluded on 17 April 2007 when the outfit was fully relaunched as Quinn Healthcare.
In June 2007, Bupa announced that it had agreed to sell its hospitals business, comprising 25 hospitals, to the European private equity firm, Cinven for £1.44 billion ($2.8 billion) (Euro 2.13 billion). The Bupa Board stressed that the sale would have no effect on holders of Bupa health insurance in the UK, who will have access to the same range of hospitals they currently have.[3]
In December 2007, Bupa announced the purchase of Health Dialog, a US provider of Care Management services.[4] BUPA had been a founding investor of Health Dialog since its inception, and with purchased the remaining shares of the company in order to help Health Dialog expand internationally.
On 1 January 2008, Bupa's logo for its American business changed. The UK logo changed on 1 April 2008 after 27 years, and became known as Bupa rather than BUPA.
On 17 March, Bupa acquired the Cromwell Hospital in London. On 14 May, approval was given for the merger between Bupa's Australian arm and insurance group MBF, which also includes HBA and Mutual Community.[5]
On 15 May 2008, Bupa International and International Medical Insurers had their launch event to celebrate their collaboration. This makes International Medical Insurers(IMI) the sole distributor for BUPA plans in Singapore.
Corporate status
Bupa is a provident association meaning it has no shareholders and therefore doesn't pay a dividend. As such it reinvests its surpluses into improved health and care facilities such as medical equipment, the latest technology and buildings. [6]
Medical research
Bupa annually awards nearly £2.5 million in grants to the Bupa Foundation, an independent charitable foundation that supports projects to advance medical knowledge and improve treatments.[7]
Leadership
Ray King, who was previously Bupa's Finance Director, took over from Val Gooding as Chief Executive on 19th May 2008.
References
External links
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