From its Optum arm striking a deal to acquire Amedisys, to a warning of rising medical costs, here are 11 updates from UnitedHealth Group that Becker's has reported since June 13:
1. Eli Lilly is now the largest healthcare company in the world by market value, surpassing UnitedHealth Group.
2. Idaho dropped UnitedHealth Group's Optum as the managed care contractor for its behavioral health plan and awarded a four-year, $1.2 billion contract to Centene's Magellan Healthcare subsidiary.
3. Kristi Henderson, DNP, left her role as CEO of Optum Everycare to helm Confluent Health, a family of physical and occupational therapy companies based in Louisville, Ky.
4. UnitedHealthcare eliminated out-of-pocket costs for its 24/7 Virtual Visits program for eligible members enrolled in fully insured employer-sponsored plans.
5. Tacoma, Wash.-based Virginia Mason Franciscan Health partnered with UnitedHealth Group's Optum Washington, with Virginia Mason Medical Center in Seattle operating as the physician group's primary acute-care referral center.
6. Optum plans to merge with home and hospice care provider Amedisys in an all-cash deal valued at $101 per share, pending shareholder and regulatory approvals.
7. OptumRx added more biosimilar competitors of expensive biologic Humira.
8. In a wide margin, UnitedHealth Group shareholders rejected three proposals that revolved around health equity efforts, political donations and how much severance executives receive when they leave the company.
9. The Supreme Court upheld the Justice Department's decision to dismiss a whistleblower lawsuit alleging a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary overcharged Medicare. In an 8-1 ruling issued June 16, the court ruled the Justice Department has the authority to dismiss False Claims Act lawsuits brought on behalf of the government by whistleblowers.
10. UnitedHealthcare is seeing rising utilization as more older adults seek out services they delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
11. Prior authorization changes and paperless policies led UnitedHealth Group to cut its paper usage by 1 billion pieces, according to the company's sustainability report.