Thursday, September 01, 2011

United Health On The Move

Attached a link http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424053111903895904576542553422509280.html to an article titled" UnitedHealth Buys California Group of 2,300 Doctors" reporting that United Healthcare will acquire the management arm of Monarch HealthCare, an Irvine, Calif., association that includes approximately 2,300 physicians in a range of specialties. This will establish United's Optum health-services unit as a formidable presence in California. Optum had previously taken over the management arms of two smaller southern California groups, AppleCare Medical Group and Memorial HealthCare Independent Practice Association.This serves as an example of how lines are blurring between insurance companies and health-care providers.
What can we do? Consider forming cohesive primary care and/or multi-specialty associations, utilizing EHR technology and based on the Patient-Centered-Medical-Home Model to compete in the rapidly changing healthcare marketplace.
We cannot ignore the writing on the wall. Change is inevitable!
Yours
Bernd

No comments: