Old Boss Is Back on Scene but Not Part of Operation

Talbert Medical Management Holdings Corp.--the former medical group of FHP International Corp. being spun off to shareholders this spring--was alive with rumors last week that an unpopular boss was back.

Employees saw the word “reserved” being painted on a prime parking space at the medical group’s Costa Mesa headquarters. They wondered about plush furniture being moved into an office.

They worried that one-time boss Westcott W. Price III, the former FHP president who is jobless after FHP’s recent buyout by PacifiCare Health Systems Inc., would become a paid consultant to Talbert and possibly take an executive role.

Price outraged Talbert employees last year by insisting that FHP wouldn’t be sold only a day before the buyout by PacifiCare was announced, according to an insider. The medical group historically derived all of its revenue from FHP, and Talbert employees feared a loss of business once FHP ownership changed.

In a staff meeting early Friday, Jack Massimino, the company’s president, quashed the rumors, saying Price is simply renting space at Talbert’s headquarters to run his own businesses, and the furniture is his. The “reserved” sign was erased that day.

Price, who remains a Talbert board member, denied that he’d promised not to sell FHP immediately prior to the announcement. He also noted that a Talbert employee had offered to paint the sign on the parking space, but Price believed the gesture was inappropriate. “I’m renting a small office in one of the Talbert buildings, simply because I had no other place to go,” Price said.

Barbara Marsh covers health care for The Times. She can be reached at (714) 966-7762 and at barbara.marsh@latimes.com