National Research Buys California Firm

National Research Corp. of Lincoln said Monday that it has bought nearly all the assets of Geriatric Health Systems, a health care survey research and analysis company from San Francisco, for an undisclosed amount.

The sale lets National Research enter the commercial health plan market, in addition to the health care provider market where National Research already operates.

President Joe Carmichael said Geriatric Health Systems’ operations, handled by about 12 hourly workers, would be combined into National Research’s Lincoln office by the end of this year, possibly without adding staff.

The company’s three-person management team will stay on through the end of the year, he said, and decisions about their status would be made later.

The acquisition includes Geriatric Health Systems’ client list and survey products that measure health status, health risk and member satisfaction for health plans in the United States, he said. The acquisition should add slightly to National Research’s 2005 earnings, the company said. — Steve Jordon