Dive Brief:

UnitedHealthcare pays providers in its sister company Optum 17% more than it pays non-Optum providers, according to a new study that provides fresh ammunition to critics of vertical integration and of UnitedHealth, the healthcare behemoth that owns both businesses.

That percentage spikes to 61% in markets where UnitedHealthcare has at least 25% control, the study published in Health Affairs on Monday found.

The results suggest that UnitedHealth is sidestepping rules meant to keep payers from unfairly profiting off of providing insurance, researchers said. UnitedHealth strongly refuted the findings and said that UnitedHealthcare pays Optum and other providers at similar rates.

Dive Insight:

Researchers, regulators and lawmakers are growing increasingly concerned about v

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