Dive Brief:
- UnitedHealth is changing up the leadership of its healthcare delivery arm Optum Health, a spokesperson confirmed to Healthcare Dive Friday.
- Patrick Conway, who was promoted to chief executive of the larger Optum health services division this spring, will take on CEO duties at the care delivery unit, the spokesperson said.
- Dr. Amar Desai, the previous CEO who began in the role in 2023, is now president of Optum integrated care and vice chairman of Optum Health.
Dive Insight:
A spokesperson said the changes allow the company to develop an executive team “with a wide range of experiences across its diverse portfolio of businesses.”
The CEO switch at Optum comes as its parent company has faced uncharacteristic financial challenges in recent months.
The healthcare giant underperformed on earnings and revenue in the first quarter, in part due to challenges at Optum Health, and lowered its earnings guidance for the full year. The segment posted revenue of $25.3 billion during the quarter, down from $26.7 billion in the prior-year period.
Optum Health cares for patients in fully captivated care arrangements, and added a number of new Medicare Advantage patients during the quarter who had previously been covered by plans that had exited their markets this year, executives said on an earnings call in April.
That meant their plans didn’t adequately capture members’ health needs, leading to lower reimbursement that didn’t reflect their actual care costs. Plus, some complex patients have been affected by changes to MA risk modeling, executives said.
In May, three investment banks downgraded UnitedHealth, citing increased utilization challenges for its insurer UnitedHealthcare and a report that the company is under investigation by the Department of Justice.
UnitedHealth has also switched up leadership at the very top of the organization. Andrew Witty stepped down as CEO last month, leaving board chairman and former chief executive Stephen Hemsley in the top role.
UnitedHealth will report second-quarter earnings on July 29.
