Bredesen F&A Commis. Goetz departs for Ingenix

Second-term Gov. Phil Bredesen's F&A Commissioner Dave Goetz announced his departure for as-yet undisclosed responsibilities within Ingenix, the healthcare technology subsidiary of insurer UnitedHealth Group that bought Franklin-based AIM Healthcare a few years ago. Goetz has overseen the Bredesen-charter e-Health Council of state government in recent years. That group partnered with AT&T on connectivity, handled physician-office IT initiatives, had a stake in a regional health information exchange in the Memphis area, spawned a new public-private partnership, and more. Online news indicates Ingenix has been battling class-action lawsuits regarding an allegedly faulty database that petitioners say led to reimbursement errors. Prior to serving nearly eight years with Bredesen, Goetz led both the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry and the Tennessee Business Roundtable. Earlier, he was a Capitol Hill reporter for Nashville's WTVF Channel 5 (CBS). Former Bredesen Revenue Commis. Reagan Farr and ECD Commis. Matt Kisber recently signalled their involvement in Silicon Ranch, a Solar-oriented venture, details of which have not been released.

Smoke clears with AIM Healthcare no longer independent

For months, it seemed the staff cuts and reorganization and rampant rumors of impending sale at Franklin-based AIM Healthcare Services Inc. had to be leading somewhere. Yesterday, we learned UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) subsidiary Ingenix, based in Eden Prairie, Minn., acquired AIM Healthcare Services Inc. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. A recent Hoover's entry reportedly said only that AIM had revenue of more than $60 per year, but some local observers have recently pegged the figure at north of $200MM. The sale is likely to have been for at least twice that amount. Three years ago, NashvillePost.com reported fierce litigation between local rivals AIM and local rival Arbor Healthcare, involving petitions that, among other claims and counter-claims, described AIM management's allegedly rough and intimidating behavior toward those it suspected of wrongdoing. Jim Sohr (at left) has served as president of AIM HealthCare Services, Inc. since its founding in 1995. Prior to co-founding AIM with Williamson County entrepreneur Preston Ingram, Sohr was director of new business development at Hobart/Tafa Technologies, a coatings and robotics company; and, was assistant VP-Operations at Marine Midland Bank, New York. Sohr earned his bachelor's in EE at the Vanderbilt School of Engineering and his MBA at VU's Owen Graduate School of Management.