Revenue from Optum's data arm jumps 35% after Change ...

Revenue from Optum's data arm jumps 35% after Change ... unknown

Optum's data and analytics arm has seen a 35% increase in revenue year over year following the company's purchase of Change Healthcare for $13 billion.

"Optum Insight continues to build and invest in advanced data capabilities to meet the rising needs of its customers," UnitedHealth Group wrote in its third-quarter earnings report, published Oct. 13. "The revenue backlog increased by more than $7 billion to over $31 billion compared to last year."

UnitedHealth said revenue growth also came from Optum Insight's technology products and services that are sold to health systems, payers and life sciences organizations. 

Optum's total revenue in the third quarter was $56.7 billion, up 22 percent year over year. Optum Insight revenue was nearly $5 billion in the third quarter, compared to $3.7 billion during the same period last year.

Following an unsuccessful challenge of the Optum-Change merger by the federal government last year, UnitedHealth gained data from millions of healthcare transactions covering a broad swath of the U.S. population. A majority of payers had a relationship with Change at the time of the purchase, and the company had connections with thousands of providers.

After the merger was completed, UnitedHealth said it would spend at least $100 million to integrate Optum Insight with Change Healthcare.

"It's a great moment to bring together tremendous complementary skills, capabilities, technologies and perspectives on the marketplace," CEO Andrew Witty said in October 2022. "As we roll through the next two quarters or three quarters, we really anticipate a kind of new Optum Insight emerging from this integration."