Optum, parent company of ASC chain SCA Health, has seen massive growth, including spending $31 billion on acquisitions in the last two years.
Here are 10 major headlines regarding Optum since Jan. 1:
1. In November, the U.S. Justice Department filed a lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group, parent company of Optum, to prevent its planned $3.3 billion acquisition of home health provider Amedisys. The lawsuit alleges that the acquisition would drive up home healthcare prices in 23 states plus Washington, D.C. Optum announced its intent to merge with Baton Rouge, La.-based Amedisys, which employs about 18,000 staff across 522 care centers in 37 states and Washington, D.C., in June 2023
2. A recent audit of Optum revealed it may have violated Mississippi law. Among other findings, the audit uncovered more than 75,000 instances wherein Optum-affiliated pharmacies' lowest payments for a prescription drug were higher than at unaffiliated pharmacies, including chain and independent drugstores, over the course of a year.
3. Optum set its sights on acquiring Brentwood, Tenn.-based ASC operator Surgery Partners. Private equity firm TPG is also an interested buyer, along with other PE firms and strategic bidders. The deal is in its early stages and is not confirmed.
4. In October, Pittsburgh-based UPMC and national urgent care provider GoHealth Urgent Care launched a joint venture to oversee operations at selected Optum's MedExpress centers across Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Virginia.
5. In September, OptumCare, located in Basking Ridge, N.J., announced plans to lay off 160 employees.
6. In July, Optum announced plans to close clinics in multiple states and lay off 524 employees across California. The California employees will be terminated from Sept. 16 through January 2025 at clinic and administrative office locations in Hayward, Glendora, Montbello, Covina, Pasadena, Long Beach, Los Angeles, Irvine, Beaumont, Redlands, Highland, El Segundo, and Cerritos.
7. In June, Optum called off its plan to acquire financially troubled Steward Health Care's 1,700-physician group. In August, Steward entered into a definitive agreement to sell the group to Nashville, Tenn.-based Rural Healthcare Group, part of private equity firm Kinderhook Industries, for $245 million in cash.
8. Also in June, the company announced that it is shuttering its telehealth business, selling its workers' compensation settlement solutions business and closing a clinic in Ohio, laying off 129 employees in the process.
9. In May, Optum announced it would close a Change Healthcare facility in Toledo, Ohio, resulting in the termination of 129 employees located in Ohio or working remotely. The layoffs occurred in three waves from July 15 to Sept. 6.
10. In February Optum's Change Healthcare experienced the most significant and consequential cyberattack in American history, crippling financial operations for hospitals, insurers, pharmacies and medical groups nationwide.