Change Healthcare IPO coming soon

Change Healthcare, a billing and data analytics company, will file for an initial public offering soon, McKesson CEO John Hammergren said at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference. McKesson, a drug and device distributor, owns 70% of Change Healthcare. The IPO could happen as soon as this year, or in 2019.

Flashback: Change Healthcare used to be publicly traded when it was known as Emdeon. Blackstone then took Emdeon private in 2011 in a $3 billion deal. A return to the public markets builds on the growing appetite from hospitals and health insurers that want to comb through patient data.