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UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of the nation's largest private insurer, UnitedHealthcare (UHC), is now affiliated with or employs approximately 10% of the US physician workforce, raising anti-trust and noncompete concerns as more payers and private equity firms pursue medical practice acquisitions.
The company added 20,000 physicians in the last year alone, including a previously physician-owned multispecialty group practice of 400 doctors in New York. They join the growing web of doctors — about 90,000 of the 950,000 active US physicians — working for the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary, Optum Health, providing primary, specialty, urgent, and surgical care. Amar Desai, MD, chief executive officer of Optum Health, shared the updated workforce numbers during the healthcare conglomerate's annual investor conference this week. “
"If you ask a physician what causes them the most moral conflict, they'll tell you it's the insurance companies denying something they want to do for their patients," he said. "To have the doctors now working for the insurance industry conflicts with a physician's duty to put the patient first."
www.medscape.com
www.beckersasc.com
UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of the nation's largest private insurer, UnitedHealthcare (UHC), is now affiliated with or employs approximately 10% of the US physician workforce, raising anti-trust and noncompete concerns as more payers and private equity firms pursue medical practice acquisitions.
The company added 20,000 physicians in the last year alone, including a previously physician-owned multispecialty group practice of 400 doctors in New York. They join the growing web of doctors — about 90,000 of the 950,000 active US physicians — working for the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary, Optum Health, providing primary, specialty, urgent, and surgical care. Amar Desai, MD, chief executive officer of Optum Health, shared the updated workforce numbers during the healthcare conglomerate's annual investor conference this week. “
"If you ask a physician what causes them the most moral conflict, they'll tell you it's the insurance companies denying something they want to do for their patients," he said. "To have the doctors now working for the insurance industry conflicts with a physician's duty to put the patient first."
10% of US Doctors Work for UnitedHealth. Is That a Problem?
With so many physicians under one payer's control, an economist and physician question the impact of continued healthcare consolidation.
www.medscape.com
Optum's earnings in 2023: A breakdown - Becker’s ASC
Optum's ASC operator branch, SCA Health, now has more than 320 surgical facilities and 9,200 physicians. Learn about Optum's financial performance in 2023.
www.beckersasc.com
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