On April 8th, health services company Optum acquired walk-in medical care provider MedExpress. Terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed.
This purchase serves as a continuation of UnitedHealth Group’s earlier buying streak. In September 2014, Optum agreed to acquire MedSynergies, a physician practice-consulting firm. The company also bought care-monitoring company Alere Health for $600 million a month later in October 2014. The MedExpress deal specifically puts UnitedHealth in the low-cost healthcare provider setting, and nicely complements Optum’s 2014 purchases.
As a division of UnitedHealth Group, Optum represents roughly 37% of UnitedHealth’s $130.5 billion of revenue from 2014.
MedExpress Urgent Care has found great success by creating a positive fusion of proven healthcare strategies with leading business minds. MedExpress’ leadership includes CEO Frank Alderman M.D., Co-Founder and Chief Medical Officer Bryan K. Stuchell M.D., COO Robert Maha M.D., and board of directors members Robbert Vorhoff and Jonathan C. Korngold.
Currently, Optum only operates out of 10 of its own walk-in clinics, which means that the acquisition of MedExpress really allows them to jump into the low-cost healthcare provider market in a big way. As a comparison, MedExpress runs 141 urgent-care clinics across 11 states, with a very strong presence in their home state of Pennsylvania where they have 51 locations—that’s triple the amount they have in other states! Just this year, MedExpress plans to open 25–30 new clinics, which house practitioners who treat routine injuries and illnesses.
“This will give them a way to get into the market,” Arch Mahaaja, professor of business management and health care at Point Park University, said about Optum. “This makes a lot of sense for them. Their goal is to make it convenient for customers.”
According to MedExpress spokesman Kelly Sorice, the company will retain its administrative offices in Morgantown and Canonsburg in Pennsylvania. MedExpress was founded in Morgantown in 2001.
What do you think of the acquisition of MedExpress by Optum? Let us know in the comments section below!