Becker's ASC Review

35 TRANSACTIONS Another Optum power play shakes up the ASC market By Patsy Newitt O ptum is extending its infl uence in outpatient care with another high-profi le acquisition. Its subsidiary, SCA Health, one of the nation's largest ASC operators, acquired Exton, Pa.-based U.S. Digestive Health in early 2025. Formed in 2019 through the consolidation of three regional gastroenterology groups with private equity backing, U.S. Digestive Health has grown into a major platform in the Northeast with more than 250 gastroenterology providers across 40 practice sites and 24 ASCs in Pennsylvania and Delaware. Shakeel Ahmed, MD, CEO of St. Louis-based Atlas Surgical Group, told Becker's the deal will be a "positive infl uence on outpatient care and the ASC market in general," accelerating the migration of procedures to outpatient settings. "While I lament the impending demise of private practice gastroenterology, I feel that these high-level mergers do help improve patient care and access," he said. "By bringing a large GI practice under the Optum umbrella, SCA can leverage their care and off er their value-based contracts to the medical practices." e acquisition adds to a pattern of aggressive growth by Optum. As of July 17, UnitedHealth, Optum's parent company, directly employs or contracts with more than 90,000 physicians, according to a new "Sunlight Report" by the Center for Health & Democracy, funded by Arnold Ventures. is accounts for about 10% of the entire U.S. physician workforce. Optum's subsidiaries include 423 ASCs, more than 880 home health companies, and 335 administrative/support entities. A study published in Health Aff airs Scholar in July found that by 2023, Optum controlled 2.71% of the national primary care market by service volume, making it the largest payer-affi liated provider in this space. Private equity activity in gastroenterology has slowed in deal frequency but grown in transaction size and momentum. GI PE deals fell by 50% between 2022 and 2023, dropping from 26 to 13. Still, large platforms such as GI Alliance, Gastro Health and United Digestive are expanding through add-on acquisitions and recapitalizations. GI Alliance's $785 million investment with Apollo Global Management and Cardinal Health's $2.8 billion majority stake in GI Alliance illustrate the scale of recent GI megadeals. ese consolidations are raising concerns about autonomy, costs and patient impact. Not all physicians are optimistic. Alejandro Badia, MD, founder and CMO of Miami-based Badia Hand to Shoulder Center, told Becker's Image Credit: Fierce Healthcare

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