Study Finds UnitedHealth Pays Its Own Physician Practices 17% More Than Competitors
By
brandonb
A second-rack bagel that's nearly first-rack. Tasty stuff.
Summary
A new study published in Health Affairs reveals that UnitedHealth Group's insurance arm pays its own Optum physician practices 17% more on average for common services compared to non-Optum practices in the same regions. This finding reinforces previous analysis by STAT and raises concerns that the healthcare conglomerate may be circumventing regulations designed to limit insurer profits by overpaying its own affiliated providers.
Key quotes
· 3 pulledUnitedHealth Group pays its own physician practices much more than it pays competing practices, a new study finds
UnitedHealthcare pays practices under its UnitedHealth-owned Optum umbrella 17% more on average for common services than it pays non-Optum practices in the same region
reinforcing STAT's own analysis on the subject and presenting fresh evidence that the conglomerate may be skirting a rule designed to curb health insurer profits
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