Here’s yet one more subsidiary of the giant insurance/technology behemoth that has been created this year.  This is probably duimagee to the fact that United/Optum just purchased MedExpress, a large chain of clinics across the US.  MedExpress by the way unless it changed on the site openly solicits doctors to get in touch with them if they want to sell their practice.  Hope not too many go that route myself.

Optum (United Healthcare) Buys MedExpress Urgent Care Business- 141 Full Service Clinics In 11 States–Company Advertises They Are In the Market to Buy Your MD Practice, As A “Too Big To Fail Insurer” Moves Forward With More Acquisitions

The list of investors are not listed but we might look at the cast of companies already doing business with United/Optum to speculate, like Mayo, Dignity, etc. who are already involved in the pursuit of taking over revenue cycling in hospitals where ever they can land a contract.  This usually involves firing existing hospital employees and hiring them at a cheaper rate or with less benefits.  If you look at any job pages for comments on Optum 360, most of them say the drop in benefits is huge with being rehired by Optum 360, all to cut costs of course.  A former Dignity employee  really voiced that pretty loud on one of the jobs boards I read. 

Mayo Clinic is the Latest to Outsource Revenue Cycling to Optum 360, A United Healthcare/Dignity Health Company Pursuing Hospital Contracts All Over the US For Profit…

There could be any kind of additional investors as well besides the usual cast of companies as well to maybe even include other subsidiaries that United and Optum owns.  As the article mentions, Optum Clinics filed a form D and the information is filed this way to keep the investors highly confidential as it’s something more than likely they don’t want to reveal right now, so a little bit of secrecy here with the new Optum/United subsidiary.  You can use the link here to view the filing with the SEC and see who the officers are and a few other tidbits of information here. 

We do know that Optum is very much interested in the urgent care clinics and I believe they have nine already under their own branding in Texas for one and in a couple other states. This makes me think back a bit to Zeke Emanuel and his past writings on the web where he talks about a big healthcare entity like Optum (and he loves Optum as he can’t get enough of them or write enough it seems) taking over, maybe even for a lot of what Medicare does, so seems a bit spooky does it not?  You have to remember we now have a former Optum Executive running Medicare, Andy Slavitt who’s also accredited with being a former Goldman Sachs banker too.  You can look old Zeke up and read his sometimes over zealous writings and his “love” for Optum over and over, and remember he thinks you are of little use after the age of 75, and who didn’t read that on the web a short while back. 

What I found interesting too is the question on this page asking for people to comment and give the writer some information as “why are they doing this”.  Read what was said here in quotes too below…it’s all about money and the part about potential customers feeling more safe…there’s a choke on that one as for healthcare we go to where we get better care, not because of the fact that they are well financed.  image

Oh well, back to the folks confusing virtual and real world values again, a huge problem.

“Despite Steven R Fenlon’s reporting disadvantages, Optum Clinics Holdings, Inc. could benefit from this reporting. First, it helps potential customers feel more safe to deal with a firm that is well financed. The odds are higher that it will stay in the business. Second, this could attract other investors such as venture-capital firms, funds and angels. Third, positive PR effects could even bring leasing firms and venture lenders.”

So one might guess they wanted the money to buy more clinics, remodel the ones they got with buying MedExpress, or both and a few other things thrown in.  If you have not looked into the huge array of subsidiaries Untied/Optum has, it’s worth a look as 2/3 of their business comes from insurance and 1/3 is coming from software and analytics, and you can go back to the old Ingenix software (which is now called Optum Insights) that’s been around for a while and was the bottom line for the AMA lawsuit a few years ago with lowballing customary fees on out of network charges for 15 years, Ingenix Algorithms you could say. 

In addition companies who own a pharmacy benefit manager like to sell drugs and make money too.  For years Optum has had their own but they bought another one to incorporate which has some data selling skeptics (besides me) on the web wondering what this is going to fully do for privacy efforts.  The amount of data for sale about you whenever you fill a prescription is huge today, making money to usually include Milleman and Optum yanking data out to analyze and sell to the likes of IMS, the biggest data seller of healthcare information out there who did an IPO last year.  So again, thinking about how subsidiary companies would maybe work together, well clinics and patients need a PBM right? 

United Healthcare Buys Catamaran Pharmacy Benefit Manager Just As the PBM Gets Hit With A Class Action Lawsuit For Low Balling Pharmacy Reimbursements..And More Patient Data to Sell and Analyze For Profit

So the mystery remains for now at least as to who kicked in $36 Million to fund this new Optum Clinics Holding?  We might find out in time, so stay tuned.  BD


Optum Clinics Holdings, Inc., Corporation just submitted form D for $36.98 million financing. Optum Clinics Holdings was able to sell $36.98 million. That is 100.00% of the fundraising offer. The total fundraising amount was $36.98 million. The fundraising form was filled on 2015-05-05. The reason for the financing was: Exchange of shares valued at $36,979,733.

Optum Clinics Holdings is based in Minnesota. The company’s business is not disclosed. The form D was signed by Steven R Fenlon Assistant Secretary. The company was incorporated in 2015. The filler’s address is: 9900 Bren Road East, Minnetonka, Mn, Minnesota, 55343. John L. Larsen is the related person in the form and it has address: 9900 Bren Road East, Minnetonka, Mn, Minnesota, 55343.

 http://www.octafinance.com/optum-clinics-holdings-just-had-published-form-d-regarding-36-98-million-financing/40338/#ixzz3ZlHUDaFa

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