UnitedHealth’s big bet on the business of going to the doctor

Hello,

Welcome to Insider Healthcare. I'm Lydia Ramsey Pflanzer, and this week in healthcare news:

• The CEO of one of UnitedHealth's fastest growing units laid out how he's building a $100 billion business;
• We looked at some of the science that could change how we approach some of biotech's biggest problems;
• Startups are teaming up, speaking out, and sharing with us how they built their companies.

If you're new to this newsletter, sign up here. Tips, comments? Email me at [email protected] or tweet @lydiaramsey125. Let's get to it…

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Coming up today, a group of CDC advisors will discuss their recommendations for what comes next for Johnson & Johnson's COVID-19 vaccine.

Insider's Hilary Brueck spoke to five of the experts voting on the fate of the vaccine.

They said they're eager to end the pause and may ask that a warning be added for women.

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Building a $100 billion business

UnitedHealth is on its way to building a $100 billion business around going to the doctor.

Shelby Livingston spoke with Dr. Wyatt Decker, the CEO of OptumHealth, who's in charge of building that unit, about how virtual care will play a role, and what comes next.

Growing the business would cement UnitedHealth even further as a massive player in delivering medical care.

Here's how>>

The CEO of UnitedHealth's sprawling health-clinic business shared how transforming the way doctors get paid will help it notch $100 billion in revenue

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Key healthcare departures at Walmart

Blake Dodge and Shelby have been keeping tabs on Walmart's healthcare strategy after reporting in February that the retail giant's clinic strategy was in flux.

This week, they took a look at all the leaders leaders involved in the original plans for the clinics who have departed, including the upcoming departure of Walmart's chief medical officer.

We mapped out who left>>

Walmart's healthcare leaders are exiting the company as it taps the brakes on an ambitious clinic rollout

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New science could help solve biotech's thorniest challenges

This week, our reporters also spent some time looking at the potential future of biotech.

Andrew Dunn pinpointed 5 takeaways from Walter Isaacson's best-selling book on Jennifer Doudna, the pioneering scientist who won a Nobel Prize for discovering CRISPR - including what ethical questions now face the cutting-edge gene-editing tool.

Meanwhile, Patricia Kelly Yeo took a closer look at the plans Moderna's laid out to develop an HIV vaccine.

After the success of Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine, it's possible the biotech could chart a new path toward a vaccine that's eluded researches for decades.

There's a long road ahead>>

Moderna's mRNA technology could help in the decades-long search for an HIV vaccine

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Finally, here's what's happening with healthcare startups this week:

• Allison DeAngelis got her hands on the pitch deck Seed Health used to raise $40 million.
• Kelly spoke with the founder of Real about how her background helped shape her approach to the mental health startup.
• Blake and Megan Hernbroth broke down why 2 healthcare startups are teaming up to simplify the digital health boom for big companies.
• Shelby chronicled the plight of primary care upstarts like ChenMed and VillageMD, which are protesting a US decision to halt applications for a potentially lucrative Medicare program.

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- Lydia