Here are 24 numbers that illustrate the scope of Optum, UnitedHealth Group’s healthcare services arm that includes ASC chain SCA Health:
1. As of July 17, UnitedHealth directly employs or contracts with more than 90,000 physicians, according to a new “Sunlight Report” by the Center for Health & Democracy, funded by Arnold Ventures. This accounts for about 10% of the entire U.S. physician workforce.
2. As of late 2024, Optum’s subsidiaries include 423 ASCs, over 880 home health companies, and 335 administrative/support entities.
3. A study published in Health Affairs Scholar found that in 2023, Optum controlled 2.71% of the national primary care market by service volume, making it the largest payer-affiliated provider in this space.
4. In 2023, Optum commanded significant primary care market shares in several counties:
- 44.9% in Snohomish County, Wash.
- 40.1% in Contra Costa County, Calif.
- 35.8% in Clark County, Nev.
5. Nationwide, 15.1% of the U.S. population lived in counties where payers controlled more than 10% of the primary care market in 2023. Optum alone exceeded this threshold in counties covering 10.1% of the population.
6. According to the Sunlight Report, Optum and UnitedHealth Group have expanded their footprint through several major acquisitions:
- Surgical Care Affiliates – $2.3 billion (2017)
- DaVita Medical Group – $3.4 billion (2019)
- Equian (payment integrity) – $3.2 billion (2019)
- Landmark Health (home-based care) – $3.5 billion (2021)
- Change Healthcare – $8 billion (2023)
- LHC Group (home health/hospice) – $5.4 billion (2023)
7. For the second quarter of 2025, Optum reported $67.2 billion in total revenue, up from $62.9 billion year over year, according to UnitedHealth Group’s July 29 earnings report.
8. Despite overall growth, Optum Health revenue declined 7% year over year to $25.2 billion. The decline was attributed to increased medical care utilization, financial strain from underpriced fully-risk-assumed health plans and cuts in Medicare funding, among other factors.
9. UnitedHealth Group posted a net profit of $3.4 billion for Q2 2025, down from $4.2 billion in the same quarter last year.
10. In July, Bloomberg reported that UnitedHealth discreetly sold stakes in certain business units to private equity firms in late 2024 to sustain profitability amid internal cost pressures. These transactions included a controlling stake in Epic Hearing Healthcare to Warburg Pincus and a senior fitness program deal with KKR & Co. Collectively, these deals contributed an additional $3.3 billion in profit by the end of Q4 2024.
In response to Bloomberg’s reporting, a UnitedHealth spokesperson said:
“We certainly stand by our practices yet these matters are hardly news, since we disclosed the information through quarterly earnings calls, SEC filings and more dating back to January.”
Regarding the Sunlight Report, UnitedHealth told Becker’s:
“UnitedHealth Group comprises a small fraction of the U.S. health system. Through our diversified business, we’re helping to accelerate the transition of the U.S. health care system from volume to value; moving beyond a transaction-based health system to a model that is designed to be proactive to help keep people healthy over the course of their lifetimes; and incentivizing care delivery organizations the right way.”
