From pitching a merger with Amedisys, to naming a president of its Global Advantage division, here are eight updates on Optum that Becker's reported since May 17.
1. Medicare Advantage patients who receive in-home health visits through the Optum HouseCalls program spend less time in the emergency room and inpatient hospital settings, according to a study by Yale Medicine and Optum researchers.
2. Optum is among those ramping up investments in ambulatory surgery centers and forming joint ventures with outpatient partners to accelerate the development of new centers.
3. A federal judge in North Carolina certified class-action status in a lawsuit alleging Aetna and OptumHealth Care Solutions conspired to use "dummy code" to make administrative fees appear to be billable medical charges.
4. Individuals who are prescribed GLP-1 or SGLT-2 drugs for diabetes and who have a low copay are more likely to take those drugs for more than one year compared to those with high copays, according to a study published in JAMA Network Open. The study analyzed data from Optum Insight that included information about more than 94,000 enrollees with commercial and Medicare plans.
5. Home and hospice care provider Amedisys received an unsolicited cash offer from Optum following an agreement in May to be purchased by infusion services provider Option Care Health.
6. Optum Rx is launching a new initiative aimed at using pharmacies to bridge healthcare gaps in rural and underserved communities.
7. Susan Arthur was named president of Optum Global Advantage.
8. Optum's chief consumer officer, Kathy Weiler, departed the company to become an executive vice president and chief commercial and growth officer at Amwell.