UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE: UNH) payvider arm, Optum Health, will lay off 572 employees in early 2026, according to WARN notices the company filed in New Jersey. All of its behavioral health services in the state will stop effective Nov. 30. Other areas affected include pediatrics and specialty care. The layoffs are slated to begin on […]
Wit v. United Behavioral Health has reemerged after additional action at the district-court level affirmed two core legal contentions for the case. The recent order, issued on Aug. 5, keeps the case alive and heading in a favorable direction for the plaintiffs, who alleged profit motivations inappropriately tainted how United Behavioral Health, a part of […]
This is an exclusive BHB+ story Behavioral health spending has ballooned since the COVID-19 pandemic – and payers are taking note. This, combined with rising hospital costs and the high cost of GLP-1 medications, has prompted payers to reassess their premiums. One of the main factors driving this change is the trend that therapy has […]
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is the latest health care payer to highlight the impact of skyrocketing behavioral health utilization. Specifically, UnitedHealth Group executives said Tuesday that second-quarter financial shortcomings were partly linked to “unanticipated” medical costs that ended up being $6.5 billion more than originally forecast. That figure was largely inflated by behavioral health utilization, […]
This is an exclusive BHB+ story The impact of the Change Healthcare hack is not just a distant echo in the behavioral health industry. The reverberations of this seismic event are still felt through industry today. On top of the direct impact of the Change Healthcare hack, 15 months or so of hindsight have revealed […]
After a slow dealmaking year in 2024, private equity is eager to get back in the game. While the M&A landscape is ripe to surge, it might not be a season of crowing about deals. Still, getting paid for services rendered will likely be a dicey prospect. Add on top of those trends in the […]
Optum is reportedly executing a multi-pronged plan to curb spending on applied behavior analysis (ABA) provided to patients covered by Medicaid. The insurer targets its Medicaid-contracted autism therapy networks in Arizona, Nebraska, Tennessee, Virginia, New Jersey, Indiana and Louisiana, according to a report by the nonprofit investigative journalism outfit ProPublica. The plan is a response […]
An unknown suspect fatally shot the CEO of major health insurer UnitedHealthcare on Wednesday. Brian Thompson, who was named CEO of UnitedHealthcare in April 2021, was shot at approximately 6:40 a.m. outside of a hotel in Midtown Manhattan, according to an NYPD press conference. Law enforcement described the attack as “brazen, targeted” in the press […]
Payers don’t lose. That’s been true in the health care space for, pretty much, forever. But I’m tracking a handful of developments that kick at discrete moments of accountability for health plans. The health insurance industry is a land of leviathans. Today, there are four, maybe five, companies that truly matter in the grand scheme. […]
The trend-that-must-not-be-named is back: Layoffs. Behavioral health so often has to paste on a smile while muddling through its many challenges. So often, that leads to worries about being too cheery. The last several weeks have seen seriously positive developments. But another development hauls the industry off cloud nine and back to earth with a […]
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