UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Optum has hired a North Carolina CEO to lead its health reform strategy.
MedCost President and CEO Anita Bachmann will leave the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based health management company at the end of February to become Eden Prairie-based Optum’s senior vice president for reform strategy.
It’s a brand new role,” Bachmann said. “I’ll be working with Optum as they are working with all their constituents — providers, employers, the government — in understanding what their needs are, and really partnering with them to arrive at more affordable care solutions.”
Before joining MedCost nearly a year ago, Bachmann headed the efforts of UnitedHealthcare as it prepared for the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. Like Optum, UnitedHealthcare is part of Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group.
Optum, a wide-ranging company with a national presence and more than 65,000 employees globally, has already made a name for itself in the segment.
The company was called on by the federal government toward the end of 2013 to help sort through problems with the roll-out of online health insurance marketplace HealthCare.gov. Massachusetts hired Optum to work through problems with its online exchanges, and the company identified flaws free-of-charge in Minnesota’s MNsure exchange.
“Certainly it’s a very large company, very diversified company in terms of the information technology-enabled services they offer, in addition to what I would consider integrated solutions to improve population health,” Bachmann said.
Date: Feb 25, 2014