UnitedHealth Buys Home Health Care Provider LHC Group For $5.4B

UnitedHealth Group will spend $5.4 billion to acquire LHC Group and delve deeper into home health, an area of care expected to grow as baby boomers age, Tom Murphy reported for the Associated Press (AP).

Photo Insert: UnitedHealth Group

The health care giant said Tuesday that it will pay $170 in cash for each share of LHC’s stock in a deal expected to close later this year. UnitedHealth, which runs the nation’s largest health insurer, will add LHC Group Inc. to its Optum Health business, which operates primary care clinics and surgery centers around the country.

The deal represents “a nice strategic fit” for Optum, given the growth potential in-home health care and UnitedHealth’s Medicare Advantage coverage, Mizuho Securities USA analyst Ann Hynes said in a research note.

Medicare Advantage plans are privately run versions of government-funded Medicare coverage for people who are 65 or older or those who have certain severe disabilities.

LHC Group provides in-home health care to patients dealing with injuries, illnesses or chronic conditions. The Lafayette, Louisiana, company has 964 locations in 37 states. It provides nurses and home health aides who care out doctor treatment plans and therapists who offer physical, occupational, and speech therapy.

LHC also provides end-of-life hospice care through 170 locations. Health insurers and other payers have been emphasizing home-based care more in recent years, a trend fueled by the COVID-19 pandemic. They expect this type of care to remain popular as the US population ages and more people become eligible for Medicare.

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