UnitedHealth deal in Louisiana includes clinics

UnitedHealth Group's acquisition this summer of a Medicare health plan in Louisiana also includes a small addition to the Minnetonka-based company's growing network of medical clinics.

Last week, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) cleared a deal announced in June for UnitedHealth Group to purchase Peoples Health Inc., a Louisiana-based HMO operating in one of the few states where the health insurer isn't already one of the three largest sellers of Medicare Advantage health plans.

An FTC notice published Monday about the UnitedHealth Group acquisition said it included an entity called Capital City Medical Group. While the parties didn't disclose financial terms, FTC reviews typically are limited to deals worth at least $84 million.

"We currently have four Primary Care Plus clinics operating under Capital City Medical Group," a spokesperson for Peoples Health Inc. said Tuesday via e-mail. The clinic's website lists seven physicians as practicing at clinics near Baton Rouge, La., and New Orleans.

UnitedHealth Group runs the nation's largest health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, plus a fast-growing division for health care services called Optum.

Deals in recent years have made Optum one of the nation's largest operators of surgery centers and urgent care clinics.

A network of 32,000 employed or aligned physicians care for 15 million patients annually, UnitedHealth officials have said.

Last year, Peoples Health had about 63,000 enrollees in Medicare health plans that posted $768.3 million in revenue, according to a regulatory filing.

A 2017 report from the California-based Kaiser Family Foundation found that UnitedHealth Group was one of the three largest sellers of Medicare Advantage plans in 42 states plus the District of Columbia.

UnitedHealth wasn't in the top three in terms of market share in Louisiana, where Peoples Health ranked No. 2 last year, according to Kaiser.

Christopher Snowbeck • 612-673-4744 Twitter: @chrissnowbeck