UnitedHealth Group Expands into Home Care with Purchase of LHC

​UnitedHealth Group announced last week it is acquiring LHC Group, a corporate member of HCAOA, for $5.4 billion. The purchase will be the health insurer’s continued expansion into the home care market.
 
LHC Group will become a part of their health care services division, Optum, which already owns local primary, specialty, and urgent care facilities across the U.S. The move will enhance their reach beyond outpatient centers and into homes. Optum’s goal is to keep patients out of hospitals and in their homes, where the cost for care is lower.

​LHC employs 30,000 people with 12 million in-home appointments across 37 states. The executive team will transfer over to UnitedHealth Group once the merger is complete in late 2022.
 
The announcement comes on the heels of Humana’s announcement that they will acquire full ownership of an unnamed home care company.