Episode

Optum’s Vertical Integration: Impact on Healthcare Pricing & Referrals

Podcast
A Health Podyssey
Published
Mar 3, 2026
Duration seconds
1285
Processing state
not_requested
Canonical source
https://share.transistor.fm/s/2f49fa04
Audio
https://media.transistor.fm/2f49fa04/29b5a523.mp3
JSON
/v1/public/podcasts/a-health-podyssey-1366621/episodes/optum-s-vertical-integration-impact-on-healthcare-pricing-referrals
Markdown
/podcast/a-health-podyssey-1366621/optum-s-vertical-integration-impact-on-healthcare-pricing-referrals.md

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Summary

Health Affairs ' Rob Lott interviews Derek T. Lake on his recent paper exploring new research on Optum’s acquisitions , finding the company tended to buy physician practices already using ambulatory surgery centers and that its ASC acquisitions were followed by higher prices for competing insurers. Order the February 2026 issue of Health Affairs . Currently, more than 70 percent of our content is freely available - and we'd like to keep it that way. With your support , we can continue to keep our digital publication Forefront and podcast for everyone.