From UnitedHealth's plans to move its corporate offices to Optum's campus, to a judge denying Prisma's Health's temporary restraining order request against UnitedHealthcare, here are nine headlines about UnitedHealth Group Becker's has reported since Sept. 8.
1. Two Seattle-based physician practices Optum acquired in 2019 — the Everett Clinic and Polyclinic — will be rebranded as Optum in April 2024 and outfitted with new digital services, including on-demand video visits, anytime electronic visits, open scheduling and electronic consults.
2. UnitedHealthcare and Cigna's prior authorization cuts are steps in the right direction, but the American Medical Association is "careful not to confuse positive developments with major progress," the organization's immediate past president Jack Resneck, MD, said.
3. UnitedHealth Group will move from its headquarters building in Minnetonka, Minn., to Optum's campus in Eden Prairie, Minn., in 2024.
4. The 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it won't review a lower court's ruling that 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.
5. UnitedHealth Group ranked 48th on Time and Statista list of the 750 "best" companies in the world.
6. Corvallis, Ore.-based Samaritan Health Services terminated its commercial and Medicare Advantage contracts with UnitedHealthcare. The five-hospital, nonprofit health system cited slow "processing of requests and claims" that have made it difficult to provide appropriate care to UnitedHealth's members.
7. In an overwhelming majority, Amedisys shareholders approved a $3.3 billion acquisition by UnitedHealth Group's Optum.
8. UnitedHealthcare was one of seven payers awarded contracts to manage Texas' STAR +PLUS program, which provides Medicaid to adults with disabilities or are 65 years of age and older.
9. A judge denied Prisma Health's request for a temporary restraining order preventing UnitedHealthcare from disclosing details about contract negotiations to the press.