From cyberattacks to partnership terminations, here are seven updates surrounding UnitedHealth's Optum that Becker's has reported on in February:
- Optum Rx is currently monitoring two drug candidates — resmetirom and sotatercept — that could be approved in the next few months.
- Change Healthcare, part of UnitedHealth Group, reported a "cybersecurity incident" on Feb. 21 that disrupted connectivity and healthcare operations nationwide, with the American Hospital Association urging healthcare facilities to disconnect from Optum systems following the cyberattack.
- Maryland replaced Optum with Elevance Health's Carelon to administer mental health and substance use disorder services under its public behavioral health system.
- St. Louis-based SSM Health and UnitedHealth Group's Optum ended their administrative partnership around inpatient care management, digital transformation and revenue cycle management.
- Optum Ventures, the venture capital arm of Optum, backed a $70 million series B funding round for Ambience Healthcare, a company that creates AI operating systems for healthcare organizations.
- Optum's AccuReg was named the best patient access tool in 2024 by KLAS Research.
- Minneapolis-based Allina Health announced it would be transitioning 2,000 IT and revenue cycle employees to Optum as part of a new partnership between the organizations starting May 5.