Optum received clearance to buy a 30-location independent physician organization in Massachusetts after significantly increasing the amount it intends to pay for and invest in the group, according to The Boston Globe.
With the approval of the Massachusetts attorney general's office, Optum plans to pay $236 million for Auburndale, Mass.-based Atrius Health, which includes 30 practice locations and 645 physicians and primary care providers.
Optum, a for-profit organization that is part of UnitedHealth Group, originally posed to pay $73 million for the physician organization, but upped the price 223 percent so Atrius could continue its charitable mission after the deal closes. Optum also plans to invest $200 million in infrastructure and provider recruitment for Atrius over a five-year period.
Optum would also acquire most of Atrius' employees if the deal, which is still subject to review by the state's Supreme Judicial Court, is approved.
OptumCare, Optum's physician services division, has more than 60,000 physicians in its network and plans to grow this year.