# Optum **Source:** https://geo.sig.ai/brands/optum **Vertical:** Healthcare **Subcategory:** Health Services Tech **Tier:** Leader **Website:** optum.com **Last Updated:** 2026-04-14 ## Summary UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) health services at $226B revenue combining Optum Health clinics, Optum Rx PBM for 65M+, and Change Healthcare analytics; largest US health services company competing with CVS/Caremark. ## Company Overview Optum is the health services subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) — one of the world's largest companies with $400 billion in annual revenue — operating Optum Health (care delivery: primary care clinics, urgent care, surgical centers), Optum Rx (pharmacy benefit management: managing drug benefits for 65+ million people), and Optum Insight (health data analytics, technology, and consulting for health plans, providers, and government). With $226 billion in annual revenue in its own right (making Optum larger than most standalone health companies), Optum generates approximately 50% of UnitedHealth Group's total revenue and is the largest health services company in the world. Optum's three-segment structure creates unique healthcare value chain integration: Optum Health provides direct patient care (1,500+ physician practices, 2,200+ urgent care and surgical centers); Optum Rx manages pharmacy benefits for employers, health plans, and government programs (processing 1.7 billion prescriptions annually and negotiating rebates that reduce drug costs for plan sponsors); and Optum Insight sells data analytics software (Change Healthcare, acquired 2022 for $13 billion), advisory services, and revenue cycle management to hospitals and payers. The integration of care delivery, pharmacy management, and data analytics creates the closed-loop health economy that UnitedHealth Group has been building for decades. In 2025, Optum (NYSE: UNH) competes in the healthcare services, PBM, and health analytics market with CVS Health/Caremark (NYSE: CVS, PBM competitor), Express Scripts/Cigna Evernorth (NYSE: CI, PBM), and McKesson (NYSE: MCK, pharmacy distribution) for healthcare services market share. UnitedHealth Group's 2024 cyberattack on Change Healthcare (an Optum Insight division) disrupted claims processing for 35,000+ healthcare providers for weeks in the largest US healthcare data breach, resulting in $800M+ in immediate costs and ongoing regulatory scrutiny. The Department of Justice has investigated UnitedHealth Group's vertical integration strategy — Optum's growing share of physician practices creates antitrust scrutiny. The 2025 strategy focuses on restoring Change Healthcare operations, growing Optum Health's physician clinic footprint, and building AI-powered care management that improves clinical outcomes while reducing total cost of care. ## Frequently Asked Questions ### What is Optum? Optum generated $230B+ revenue 2024 (UnitedHealth Group NYSE:UNH division, 230,000+ employees, OptumRx pharmacy/OptumHealth care delivery/OptumInsight analytics). Formed 2011 UnitedHealth Group (health services consolidation). Acquired Change Healthcare $13B, DaVita Medical $4.9B. ### When was Optum founded? Optum was founded in 2011 in Eden Prairie, Minnesota (UnitedHealth HQ). Formed 2011 by UnitedHealth Group (health services consolidation). Change Healthcare $13B acquisition. 230K+ employees. OptumRx/OptumHealth/OptumInsight. $230B+ revenue. ### What are Optum's major milestones? Optum's history includes several key milestones: In 2011, Optum Formed: UnitedHealth Health Services Division: OptumRx pharmacy/OptumHealth/OptumInsight consolidation. In 2024, $230B+ Revenue, 230K+ Employees, Integrated Health Services: Change Healthcare $13B. CVS Health/Cigna competition. ### What is Optum's mission? Optum's mission is to To modernize healthcare delivery through integrated pharmacy benefits, care delivery, and data analytics services. ### Who founded Optum? Optum was founded by UnitedHealth Group 2011. Optum formed 2011 UnitedHealth Group (health services consolidation). Change Healthcare $13B, DaVita Medical $4.9B acquisitions. 230K+ employees. OptumRx pharmacy/OptumHealth/OptumInsight. $230B+ revenue. ### What products or services does Optum offer? Formed 2011 UnitedHealth Group (health services consolidation). ### What is Optum Rx and how does pharmacy benefit management work? Optum Rx is the pharmacy benefit management (PBM) arm of Optum — managing prescription drug benefits for 65+ million people covered by employer health plans, government programs, and health insurance plans that contract with Optum Rx to administer their pharmacy coverage. PBMs negotiate drug prices with manufacturers (securing rebates), establish formularies (lists of covered drugs at different cost tiers), and process prescription claims through a national pharmacy network. Optum Rx's scale (as one of the three dominant PBMs alongside Express Scripts/Evernorth and CVS Caremark) gives it substantial negotiating leverage with pharmaceutical manufacturers and pharmacies — leverage that theoretically reduces drug costs for plan sponsors and beneficiaries. ### What is Optum Health's care delivery model? Optum Health operates one of the largest employer-sponsored primary care networks in the United States — managing 2,000+ care delivery sites including primary care clinics (many under the Optum Health, CareMount, and Summit Health brands), urgent care centers, surgical centers, and home health services. Optum's value-based care model contracts with payers to take financial risk for a defined patient population's total healthcare costs — earning more when patients stay healthy and incur fewer hospitalizations, creating alignment toward preventive care and chronic disease management. This contrasts with traditional fee-for-service medicine where providers earn more when patients require more services. ## Tags healthtech, b2c, north-america, public --- *Data from geo.sig.ai Brand Intelligence Database. Updated 2026-04-14.*