- UnitedHealth Group’s run of profits continued in the second quarter as the company successfully melds its medical and drug benefits with its Optum health services businesses in offerings to customers.
- UnitedHealth’s profits jumped nearly 28% to nearly $3 billion.
UnitedHealth Group’s run of profits continued in the second quarter as the company successfully melds its medical and drug benefits with its Optum health services businesses in offerings to customers.
The nation’s largest health insurer, UnitedHealth’s growth is setting the bar in the industry offering both health plans and a menu of healthcare services including pharmacy benefit management, surgical and outpatient care from the doctor’s office to the urgent care center.
UnitedHealth’s profits jumped nearly 28% to nearly $3 billion. Revenue rose 12% to $56 billion and the company expects the growth to continue, increasing adjusted net earnings to $12.50 to $12.75, up from previous forecast of $12.40 to $12.65 per share.
UnitedHealth’s strategy has been so successful it’s being followed by rival health insurers like Aetna, Anthem and Humana. Aetna is working through regulatory hurdles to win approval of its sale to CVS Health, which owns drugstores, health clinics and a pharmacy benefit manager. Meanwhile, Anthem and Humana are forming closer ties with medical care providers and acquiring more health services.
In a call Tuesday morning with investors, UnitedHealth CEO Dave Wichmann talked about how melding products and services is working when landing new businesses from employers and government health programs.
“Applying our core competencies in the pharmacy arena yields a better service experience, transparency, simplicity, lower costs, higher value and growth,” Wichmann said. “We do so engaging proactively with customers, manufacturers, distributors and retailers across the industry.”
The company’s UnitedHealthcare insurance businesses added 2.2 million more consumers in the second quarter. That helped revenue jump 12% to $45.8 billion.
Meanwhile, UnitedHealth continues to see double-digit percentage earnings and revenue growth for its Optum segment, which provides pharmacy benefits management and technology services to health insurers and medical providers. Optum revenues rose 9.1 percent in the quarter to $24.7 billion thanks in part to new acquisitions of providers that treat patients across the U.S.
“In the second quarter of 2018, OptumHealth increased the number of people it serves by 7 percent to 92 million,” Andrew Witty, the newly named head of Optum told analysts Tuesday morning. “Revenue per person grew 12 percent over last year, as OptumCare grows and diversifies its businesses.”
Date: July 19, 2018
Source: Forbes