On January 6, 2021, UnitedHealth Group’s Optum acquired Tennessee-based healthcare technology company Change Healthcare for roughly US$13 billion (including about US$5 billion debt). Upon the deal’s completion in H2 2021, Change Healthcare will become a part of OptumInsight, Optum’s data and analytics arm. The acquisition promises to make Optum a partner of choice for enterprises, especially in areas where both Optum and Change Healthcare are dominant, such as payment integrity, Revenue Cycle Management (RCM), and data analytics. The acquisition is also expected to provide more mature, comprehensive, and end-to-end solutions; however, how the firms leverage their combined position in the future will be vital to serving enterprise clients.

This viewpoint analyses the acquisition in detail, identifying the key drivers, the acquisition’s implications on healthcare industry stakeholders, post-acquisition considerations, and Everest Group’s views on the healthcare industry’s future course as consolidation continues in the market.

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Healthcare IT Services (ITS)

Sourcing and Vendor Management