UnitedHealth Group executives touted plans to expand the number of patients in value-based relationships in Optum Health in 2024.
On a Jan. 12 call with investors, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty said Optum Health served 4 million patients in fully accountable value-based arrangements in 2023. Mr. Witty said Optum plans to grow this number by at least 750,000 in 2024, doubling its 2022 numbers.
Value-based arrangements represented a small portion of the 103 million consumers Optum Health served in 2023, according to its year-end earnings report.
Optum Health's revenue represents 2% of the $5 trillion spent on U.S. healthcare each year, giving it room to grow, Mr. Witty said.
"Even with the strong growth and significant investments we've made, our market presence is still quite modest and the opportunity expansive," he said. "Four million patients served is just a small fraction of the many more people whose health ultimately will benefit from these models of care."
Optum is the largest employer of physicians in the United States, with 90,000 employed or affiliated physicians. Of those, 20,000 were added in 2023.
"We have a considerable distance to go to achieve the broad, systemwide impact on people's health we believe we can help drive," Mr. Witty said.