UnitedHealth Group's
RVO Health, LLC
TAX ID NUMBER: 88-1570490
TYPE: Other
SUBTYPE: Miscellaneous
FUNCTION: Consumer
SECONDARY FUNCTION: Medical
DIRECTLY CONTROLLED BY: United HealthCare Services, Inc.
DATE ESTABLISHED: 2021
In 2012, Optum and Red Ventures, a large, privately held digital media and marketing company that reaches more than 300 million people every month and manages more than 100 news and information sites, formed a joint venture called RVO Health. This entity combined assets from both companies, including Red Venture’s Healthline (medical information) and Healthgrades (doctor ratings) and Optum’s Store (home delivery of health and wellness products), Perks (prescription savings card), and virtual coaching services to create one of the world’s largest consumer health platforms.
Second, Optum’s control over popular media outlets would seem to create a conflict of interest in that information could be shaped to drive consumers to certain treatments or providers (or the opposite, to avoid certain high-cost treatments, altogether).
Third, the sheer size and scale of the combined entity furthers UnitedHealth’s efforts to vertically integrate and consolidate services, which could limit consumer choice and access to unbiased information.
Finally, while UnitedHealth’s business practices are being scrutinized by federal and state lawmakers, regulators and the courts as well as by the media, Red Ventures has also come under scrutiny for a variety of issues, including its use of AI-generated content that produced articles with errors and plagiarized content and anti-competitive practices provoking FTC intervention.
The joint venture is part of the Optum corporate structure and, according to its 2024 Schedule Y filing, is directly controlled by Solaris JV Holdings, Inc., a vehicle used to facilitate UnitedHealth Group’s vertical integration and acquisitions. According to the company’s Schedule Y filing, UnitedHealth Care Services and Solaris JV Holdings, Inc. have ownership stakes of 32.836% and 17.173% respectively in RVO Health; the combined amounts (50.003%) indicates that UnitedHealth Group has the controlling share of the joint venture. Little information about the transaction or ongoing operations has been publicly disclosed, although Red Ventures received cash proceeds for the assets, which it has used to repay more than $1.4 billion in debt over the past two years.
This joint venture could face further scrutiny for several reasons. First, the combined entity will have access to a trove of information about individuals (including their personal health and consumer behaviors/preferences). This creates risk in terms of how the information is collected, stored, or used for targeted marketing and comes in the wake of the Change Healthcare cyberattack, which exposed sensitive information of approximately 190 million people.
Landing pages for RVO Health's joint ventures including Healthline and Healthgrades.
Subsidiary
highlights
Landmark Health was a leading provider of in-home health care services for patients with complex, chronic conditions, including in-home primary and palliative care. It was valued at $3.5 billion at time of purchase.
OptumInsight leverages data analytics, artificial intelligence and predictive modeling to assist with claims. It's revenues reached nearly $20 billion in 2023, a 29.8% increase over the prior year.
Term
glossary
Vertical Integration
A business strategy where a company expands its operations into multiple stages of a supply chain, reducing reliance on third-party providers and increasing control over pricing and service delivery.
Why it matters: UnitedHealth has engaged in vertical integration, acquiring thousands of health care entities, including physician groups, ASCs, pharmacies, and data analytics firms under its Optum division. This consolidation allows UHG to dominate the industry, controlling not just insurance but also care delivery, billing, and pharmacy services—often leading to conflicts of interest and anti-competitive practices.