Concerns over a growing trend
Lawmakers cited provider consolidation as a widespread issue, pointing to UnitedHealth Group’s Optum subsidiary, which spent $31 billion in a two-year span on acquisitions ranging from physical practices to surgical centers, according to BestWire. The bill’s summary noted that UnitedHealth, through its various entities, employs or contracts with around 10% of the nation’s physician workforce and owns more than 750 clinic subsidiaries nationwide.