Optum Moves to Sell Some New York Specialty Practices

Optum is in discussions with several large New York health systems to offload certain specialty practices in the state, the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary confirmed to Becker's Hospital Review on June 24. The specialties under consideration include orthopedics, general surgery, and urology.

The practices are affiliated with Optum Medical Care and Crystal Run Healthcare, the multispecialty group Optum acquired in recent years as part of its rapid buildout of physician operations. Optum now employs or is affiliated with roughly 90,000 physicians nationally, making it one of the largest employers of doctors in the country.

A decision to shed specialties marks a notable shift for a company that has spent years buying up medical groups. It suggests Optum is reassessing which lines of care fit its model, likely favoring primary and value-based care over procedure-heavy specialties. For New York health systems, the talks open a path to absorb established specialty practices and the patients they serve.