Competition is getting bigger! United Healthcare Optum is now the largest Physician Group in the Country boosting 90,000 physicians

Competition is getting bigger! United Healthcare Optum is now the largest Physician Group in the Country boosting 90,000 physicians

Optum added nearly 20,000 physicians in 2023, Optum Health CEO Amar Desai, MD, said.

During a presentation at UnitedHealth Group’s 2023 investor conference on Nov. 29, Dr. Desai said Optum has nearly 90,000 employed or affiliated physicians and another 40,000 advanced practice clinicians serving tens of millions of people.

Optum reported 70,000 employed or affiliated physicians across more than 2,200 facilities at the end of 2022. The UnitedHealth Group subsidiary is the largest employer of physicians in the United States and has acquired several practices over the past year.

Optum has more than 4 million patients in fully accountable care arrangements, which is expected to grow to 5 million by the end of 2024, Dr. Desai said.

“As a physician, I’m particularly excited that we are becoming the practice and partner of choice in the marketplace. That is because we are driving quality, standardizing technology and clinical systems, and most importantly, strengthening our relationships with patients and providers,” Dr. Desai said.

UnitedHealth’s health services arm Optum, which includes value-based care operations as well as data analytics and pharmacy services, is a growing moneymaker for the company, which also owns the nation’s largest insurer UnitedHealthcare. The unit’s revenue increased 25% year over year in the second quarter this year, from $45.1 billion in June 2022 to $56.3 billion in June 2023, and Optum Health now cares for more than 4 million patients in fully-capitated arrangements.

Desai had previously worked at Optum as president and CEO of Optum Pacific West, a value-based care delivery group for the West Coast. He had also served as president of medical group HealthCare Partners, which was purchased by UnitedHealth in 2019 through its acquisition of DaVita Medical Group.

In October, he left Optum to oversee CVS’ newly created care delivery division. 

But Desai returned to UnitedHealth about six months later, in April, to serve as a senior adviser to its CEO Andrew Witty. At the time, a UnitedHealth spokesperson told Healthcare Dive that Desai would advise Witty and the executive team on ongoing efforts to develop a consumer-focused health system.

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