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UnitedHealth's Push Into Home Health: A New Growth Chapter?
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Key Takeaways
UnitedHealth is expanding home health care through its Optum division and acquisitions.
The $3.3B Amedisys deal follows divestitures across 19 states to clear regulatory review.
UNH expects 5M patients in value-based care by 2025 as Optum revenues grow y/y.
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH - Free Report) is making a significant move in home health as the next frontier of care delivery. With the help of its Optum division, the company is further diving into home-based care, focusing on offering treatment in a more comfortable and affordable environment for patients. It aims to reduce hospital admissions, enhance chronic condition management and improve patient satisfaction, which plays a crucial role in shaping outcomes and managing costs.
UNH’s previous acquisition of LHC Group and recent acquisition of Amedisys demonstrate its dedication to this space. Followed by months of regulatory scrutiny, the companies agreed to divest 164 home health and hospice facilities across 19 states to proceed with the $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys.
This initiative is a bold jump toward value-based care. It also strengthens its relationship with members. This move will likely boost revenues and increase the number of people served while bringing costs down. The company expects the number of patients served by the fully accountable value-based care model to increase to 5 million in 2025. In the first half of 2025, UNH reported 5.8% year-over-year growth in revenues in its Optum business. We expect the metric to rise 5.7% year over year in 2025.
Home health is gradually evolving as a key component of UNH’s long-term strategy as the U.S. population is aging, which results in an increase in demand for in-home care.
How Are Competitors Faring?
Some of UNH’s major competitors in the value-based care space are Elevance Health, Inc. (ELV - Free Report) and Humana Inc. (HUM - Free Report) .
Elevance Health’s care delivery services primarily focus on serving chronic and complex populations by offering tailored care in the home and virtually. Elevance Health acquired CareBridge in 2024, which provides virtual care to Medicaid and Medicare patients and helps in plans in managing home and community-based services.
Humana’s CenterWell business offers services like pharmacy, primary care and home health solutions, which are designed to improve the overall healthcare experience. Humana’s revenues from the CenterWell unit rose 8.9% year over year in the first half of 2025.
Shares of UNH have declined 39.9% in the year-to-date period compared with the industry’s fall of 31.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, UnitedHealth trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, above the industry average of 14.63. UNH carries a Value Score of B.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UnitedHealth’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $16.58 per share, implying a 40.1% drop from the year-ago period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
Image: Bigstock
UnitedHealth's Push Into Home Health: A New Growth Chapter?
Key Takeaways
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH - Free Report) is making a significant move in home health as the next frontier of care delivery. With the help of its Optum division, the company is further diving into home-based care, focusing on offering treatment in a more comfortable and affordable environment for patients. It aims to reduce hospital admissions, enhance chronic condition management and improve patient satisfaction, which plays a crucial role in shaping outcomes and managing costs.
UNH’s previous acquisition of LHC Group and recent acquisition of Amedisys demonstrate its dedication to this space. Followed by months of regulatory scrutiny, the companies agreed to divest 164 home health and hospice facilities across 19 states to proceed with the $3.3 billion acquisition of Amedisys.
This initiative is a bold jump toward value-based care. It also strengthens its relationship with members. This move will likely boost revenues and increase the number of people served while bringing costs down. The company expects the number of patients served by the fully accountable value-based care model to increase to 5 million in 2025. In the first half of 2025, UNH reported 5.8% year-over-year growth in revenues in its Optum business. We expect the metric to rise 5.7% year over year in 2025.
Home health is gradually evolving as a key component of UNH’s long-term strategy as the U.S. population is aging, which results in an increase in demand for in-home care.
How Are Competitors Faring?
Some of UNH’s major competitors in the value-based care space are Elevance Health, Inc. (ELV - Free Report) and Humana Inc. (HUM - Free Report) .
Elevance Health’s care delivery services primarily focus on serving chronic and complex populations by offering tailored care in the home and virtually. Elevance Health acquired CareBridge in 2024, which provides virtual care to Medicaid and Medicare patients and helps in plans in managing home and community-based services.
Humana’s CenterWell business offers services like pharmacy, primary care and home health solutions, which are designed to improve the overall healthcare experience. Humana’s revenues from the CenterWell unit rose 8.9% year over year in the first half of 2025.
UnitedHealth’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates
Shares of UNH have declined 39.9% in the year-to-date period compared with the industry’s fall of 31.6%.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
From a valuation standpoint, UnitedHealth trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 17.35, above the industry average of 14.63. UNH carries a Value Score of B.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UnitedHealth’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $16.58 per share, implying a 40.1% drop from the year-ago period.
Image Source: Zacks Investment Research
The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).
You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.