UnitedHealth Group Plans to Acquire Change Healthcare in 2021

UnitedHealth Group has announced that its diversified health services company, Optum, and Change Healthcare will combine.

The deal will be worth approximately $8 billion, YahooFinance estimated.

“Together we will help streamline and inform the vital clinical, administrative and payment processes on which health care providers and payers depend to serve patients,” said Andrew Witty, president of UnitedHealth Group and chief executive officer of Optum. “We’re thrilled to welcome Change Healthcare’s highly skilled team to create a better future for health care.”

The combination has a couple of key goals.

First, the companies project that this combination will ease clinicians’ workflows and healthcare data exchange.

Change Healthcare’s technology aims to help providers access clinical criteria more easily throughout their workflow. Optum can provide better data to integrate into providers’ workflow with its Individual Health Record and clinical analytics expertise.

Second, the combination will aim to reduce administrative waste. The combined company will leverage Optum’s advanced data analytics to gain insight from the data in Change Healthcare’s intelligent health network. The resulting insights will help better inform UnitedHealth Group's strategies and services.

Third, the combined company will have the ability to streamline payment processes.

Optum has a highly automated payment network that can be enhanced by Change Healthcare’s payment capacities. As a result, the companies may be able to leverage real-time payment to deliver providers’ reimbursements more efficiently.

Aligning these technologies may ease the payment process for consumers as well, due to Change Healthcare’s patient engagement and communication capabilities. The company engages with over 200 million unique individuals annually.

“This opportunity is about advancing connectivity and accelerating innovations and efficiencies essential to a simpler, more intelligent and adaptive health system. We share with Optum a common mission and values and importantly, a sense of urgency to provide our customers and those they serve with the more robust capacities this union makes possible,” said Neil de Crescenzo, president and chief executive officer of Change Healthcare.

Optum will purchase Change Healthcare’s stock at $25.75 per share in cash.

The combination has yet to receive approval from Change Healthcare’s shareholders as well as the requisite regulatory approvals and other closing conditions. However, The Blackstone Group, which owns around 20 percent of Change Healthcare’s common stock, has already promised to vote in favor of the move.

The companies expect that the combination will be complete in the second half of 2021. Once finalized, de Crescenzo will become OptumInsight’s chief executive officer.

“Change Healthcare has made significant progress executing its strategic objectives, including advancing innovation, accelerating growth and improving the effectiveness of the U.S. health system,” added Howard Lance, chairman of the board of directors of Change Healthcare. “We are delighted to have in Optum a partner that shares a common vision of creating a better future for health care for the people and communities we serve and see this combination as in the best interests of all of our stakeholders.”

In 2020, UnitedHealth’s Optum partnered with Talkspace to address behavioral healthcare. That same year, the company also launched a concierge-style health plan with Canopy Health and formed a partnership to address vision care and access to eyewear.