UnitedHealth Group is acquiring a large clinic in Seattle for primary and specialty care that's the latest deal to grow the company's business providing direct care to patients.
Chief executive David Wichmann told investors meeting Tuesday in New York that the deal to purchase Polyclinic will supplement the Everett Clinic business in Seattle that UnitedHealth is acquiring through a separate deal for DaVita Medical Group.
Wichmann did not disclose financial terms. In December 2017, the company announced a $4.9 billion deal to acquire DaVita Medical Group, although the acquisition still hasn't closed.
"We are actively working to bring this transaction to closure as quickly as possible," Wichmann said of the DaVita deal. "We have also signed an agreement to acquire Polyclinic, a Seattle-based practice. ... We look forward to serving the people of Seattle and surrounding counties in the near future."
Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group operates UnitedHealthcare, which is the nation's largest health insurer.
The Seattle clinic will be part of the fast-growing Optum health services business at UnitedHealth, which includes units in pharmaceutical benefits management and IT consulting in addition to patient care.
UnitedHealth and its largest competitors are diversifying through mergers and acquisitions beyond the core health insurance business and getting closer to patients via pharmacies and clinics.
Earlier this year, a rating agency reported that UnitedHealth Group was part of a $2.2 billion deal to acquire a controlling interest in a physician-staffing company based in Washington state called Sound Inpatient Physician Holdings LLC. The company also has growing businesses in running urgent care clinics and surgery centers.
Beyond Polyclinic and DaVita Medical Group, Optum already owns, or owns part of, roughly a dozen large clinics across 10 states.
