On Wednesday, Optum and Summit Health union workers held a virtual town hall to discuss the “corporate takeover” of local facilities.
The virtual town hall, conducted by the 1199SEIU United Healthcare Workers East union, centered on negative employee and patient experiences since Optum, a division of UnitedHealth Group, and Summit Health acquired local facilities in New York’s Hudson Valley.
Local New York politicians, including Democratic Congressman Pat Ryan and Democratic Senator Shelley Mayer, joined the call to pledge their support for the union, with some also sharing their own experiences with both health systems.
Attendees talked about their personal struggles with high deductibles, low cost-of-living pay increases, chronic supply shortages, and long wait times for care. Words like “frustrated” and “outraged” peppered the 90-minute call of about 250 nurses, radiologists, and other medical staff.
Lisa Snyder, a certified clinical medical assistant at CareMount Medical, shared there was an eight-month wait for a mammogram appointment at an Optum location under her company’s insurance. “The deductibles are so high, and you have to choose the most expensive plan if you want to leave and go see doctors outside of Optum,” she said.
“Workers at both Optum and Summit Health—at more than a dozen urgent care, primary care, and specialty care centers across the lower Hudson Valley—are joining together with 1199SEIU to improve their working conditions, which many say have deteriorated since the Summit and Optum takeovers of their facilities,” Angela Lane, VP for the Hudson Valley region of 1199SEIU, said during the call.
How did we get here?
It’s been three years since Summit acquired Westmed Medical Group, which has locations in Westchester County, NY, and Fairfield County, CT. In January 2023, Walgreens’s primary care subsidiary VillageMD acquired Summit for $8.9 billion.
But all’s not great in Walgreens-land. As Healthcare Brew reported earlier this month, despite a stronger-than-expected Q1 earnings, the pharmacy retailer is still planning to sell off its VillageMD subsidiary, and execs are determining next steps for primary care operator Summit Health-CityMD.
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On the Optum side of the fence, it’s been almost three years since the company acquired CareMount Medical (which has offices throughout the Hudson Valley). In April 2023, UnitedHealth Group added Middletown, NY-based Crystal Run Healthcare to its Optum Health portfolio.
The call also pointed to a Stat investigation last year that found UnitedHealth drives up consumer costs by paying its Optum physician groups more (reportedly between 3% and 111% above market average). A July 2024 class action lawsuit also alleged that UnitedHealth defrauded investors by more than $5.5 billion after stocks traded at inflated prices.
What’s next?
In a statement, 1199SEIU President George Gresham said he hopes this conversation will create public awareness about how “the corporate takeover of healthcare facilities across the Hudson Valley—and the layoffs and deteriorating job standards that have ensued—are jeopardizing the future of healthcare in our communities.”
“We are calling on Optum and Summit Health to agree to fair contracts with their employees that will ensure the type of high-quality healthcare jobs that New York desperately needs to care for patients and save lives,” he added.
In response, Summit Health spokesperson Molly Lynch told Healthcare Brew that it is “having active conversations with the 1199 Union and bargaining committee to best support our New York North team members. These negotiations take a great deal of time as we try to find the best path forward without disrupting care.”
Optum spokesperson Amy Knapp told Healthcare Brew in a statement: “Providing the best possible care to patients is a top priority, and one we can best achieve when our leaders and employees work together to help people live healthier lives and to help make the health system work better for everyone.”