With 8k more physicians than Kaiser, Optum is 'scaring the crap out of hospitals'

Since its acquisition of 250 Las Vegas-area physicians in 2008, UnitedHealth Group has steadily expanded its physician workforce to shield itself from competitors and hospitals, according to a Bloomberg report. To date, the health insurance giant's physician arm, OptumCare, employs or is affiliated with about 30,000 physicians. If OptumCare completes its acquisition of Davita Medical Group, the insurer will tack on another 17,000 physicians to its ranks — making it one of the largest physician employers in America.Hospitals are gobbling up physicians, too. A recent Avalere Health study found that by mid-2016, hospitals employed 42 percent of U.S. physicians. Nashville, Tenn.-based HCA Healthcare has roughly 37,000 physicians, Bloomberg reports. Still, Optum outpaces Oakland, Calif.-based Kaiser Permanente's roughly 22,000 physicians by 8,000."This is obviously scaring the crap out of hospitals in many markets," Chas Roades, CEO at consulting firm Gist Healthcare, told the publication....