$13 BILLION: UNITEDHEALTH GROUP ACQUIRES CHANGE HEALTHCARE
by John G. Baresky on 01/08/21
UnitedHealth Group
Escalates Its Healthcare Data Analytics Capabilities With Change Healthcare
Buyout
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) has communicated
it is acquiring Change Healthcare (NASDAQ: CHNG) for $7.84 billion in cash plus
assumption of $5 billion in Change Healthcare debt.
UnitedHealth Group will integrate Change
Healthcare into its OptumInsight business group. OptumInsight is devoted to
healthcare data analytics and technology aligned with clinical and financial
applications.
Change Healthcare is a
compact and successful data management innovator that is purely focused on the
healthcare industry
Change Healthcare was founded in 2016 and is
based in Nashville, Tennessee. Its 2019 revenue was $3.3 billion. Its scope of
work encompasses clinical
information and revenue and cycle
management solutions that span patients and payers.
This includes data from pharmacies, healthcare
provider organizations (hospitals, health systems, medical practice groups,
etc.),various channel partners plus commercial and government medical and
prescription benefit plans. It also offers IT solutions that optimize the
management of medical imaging applications.
UnitedHealth Group is
the largest healthcare insurance corporation in the United States
United Health Group (commonly referred to as
"United Healthcare", "UHC" or "UHG") was founded in 1998. Its 2019 revenue was $242
billion. The addition of Change Healthcare catapults its ability to manage data
across its business model that includes:
- Commercial healthcare insurance (employers, union groups
etc.)
- Dental benefits
- Immediate care clinics
- Mail order pharmacy, retail pharmacy, specialty pharmacy
- Medicaid plans
- Medicare plans
- Pharmacy benefit management (PBM)
- Surgical centers
- Vision benefits
By fortifying OptumInsights with Change
Healthcare, it will function as UnitedHealth Group's center of excellence that
will account for multiple aspects of billing, clinical and commercial
healthcare data analytics, financial management, forecasting and other aspects
of profitable risk management enterprise.
United Healthcare’s
primary competitors are:
- Aetna (CVS/Aetna - NYSE: CVS)
- Anthem and all other Blue Cross Blue Shield organizations
nationwide
- Centene Corporation (NYSE: CNC)
- Cigna/ExpressScripts (NYSE: CI)
- Humana (NYSE: HUM)
- Intermountain Healthcare (privately held)
- Kaiser Permanente (privately held)
UnitedHealth Group's investment is an ideal strategic move as
the company continues to diversity its business model as a payer and provider
organization.
