In an effort to strengthen its presence in the state of Texas,
health insurer
UnitedHealth Group Inc.
(
UNH
) yesterday announced its plans to recruit approximately 1500
employees there.
At present UnitedHealth has approximately 11,000 employees in
the state of Texas. The company will create 115, 250, 800 and 330
new jobs across four cities namely Harlingen, San Antonio, Irving
and Sugar Land, respectively.
The openings at Harlingen and San Antonio totaling 365 will
support the Health benefits business segment at UnitedHealth. This
is one of the most significant business segments of the company,
called UnitedHealthcare, which accounts for more than two-thirds of
the company's total revenues.
Another 1100 positions in the cities of Irving and Sugar Land
will serve UnitedHealth Group's health services business segment,
which is branded as Optum. Optum is further segregated into
OptumHealth, OptumInsight and Optum Rx. The jobs created in the
cities of Irving and Sugar Land will serve OptumHealth and Optum
Rx, respectively.
The company is on a hiring spree in a bid to serve its
subsidiary Connextions at Irving. UnitedHealth acquired Connextions
in August last year. Connextions is a leading technology and
service provider in the health care industry that helps
organizations attract and serve consumers building strong
relationship along the way.
The addition of 1500 employees in Texas will expand
UnitedHealth's business. The company already has a significant
presence in the state and has been serving Texans via its health
care network of around 500 hospitals, more than 36,800 physicians
and other care professionals.
UnitedHealth sees a significant business opportunity in Texas.
The state is governed by Republican leader Rick Perry who is
opposed to Obama's Health Care Reform. The state has an uninsured
population of approximately 25% of its total population.
Other health insurers like
CIGNA Corp.
(
CI
) and
Aetna Inc.
(
AET
) also provide their services in Texas. UnitedHealth currently
retains a Zacks #3 Rank, which translates into a short-term Hold
rating. We are also maintaining our long-term Neutral
recommendation on its shares.
AETNA INC-NEW (AET): Free Stock Analysis Report
CIGNA CORP (CI): Free Stock Analysis Report
UNITEDHEALTH GP (UNH): Free Stock Analysis
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