Allina Moving 2,000 Workers to Optum
About 2,000 Allina Health employees will soon become Optum employees under a “strategic relationship” announced Thursday afternoon.
The 10-year deal calls for Eden Prairie-based Optum to take over Allina’s revenue cycle management. As part of the deal, 2,000 Allina workers in information systems and revenue cycle management will shift over to Optum effective May 5.
In a news release issued Thursday, Allina officials said the deal is intended to help “leverage Optum’s innovative technology, resources, and capabilities to build upon” Allina’s existing operations.
Financial details of the deal weren’t disclosed.
Employees were informed of the news at a mandatory all-staff meeting earlier Thursday.
Optum, a for-profit entity, is the health services and technology arm of Minnetonka-based health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group.
The Star Tribune’s longtime health reporter Christopher Snowbeck wrote that the deal won’t involve any layoffs, and that the transitioned workers will have “retention guarantees” for an unspecified timeframe.
“Health care is changing rapidly and the technological needs to support care delivery are increasingly complex,” said Allina’s chief information officer and VP Dr. David Ingham in the release. “As we look to the future, we need to collaborate on solutions that will support and accelerate our care delivery expertise by bringing size and scale to innovation and technology. This new relationship with Optum brings the best of both organizations to the table in support of providers, patients, and communities.”
The deal is expected to cut costs for Allina, though Ingham told the Star Tribune that costs are “not the sole reason” or the “rationale” for the move.
Over the summer, Allina laid of 350 employees amid “unprecedented financial challenges.”
