Dr. Amar Desai Tapped as New Optum CEO

Optum, an American health care services provider under parent company UnitedHealth Group, has named Dr. Amar Desai as chief executive officer.

Desai previously acted as president and chief executive officer over the Optum Pacific West branch before being named president of health care delivery at CVS Health in 2022. Desai will take on a pivitol role during is return to the company following the announcement earlier this summer that Optum outbid Option Care Health in a battle to acquire Amedisys. 

“I’m thrilled to be back at Optum leading Optum Health as Chief Executive Officer, working alongside 135k+ team members and caregivers to improve the health of 103 million people across the U.S.,” Desai said in a Linkedin post announcing the official news. 

In the announcement, Desai said he is looking forward to working with the Optum team in putting patients and caregivers at the center of what they do. 

“Those of you that know me are familiar with my commitment to team, impact, and serving others,” Desai said. “I can’t think of a more distinctive platform to make a larger difference in the health and health care of communities across the country.”

Desai replaces Dr. Wyatt Decker who was CEO for four and a half years. Decker will now act as chief physician of UnitedHealth Group. In this role he said he will build upon and expand UnitedHealth’s distinctive care model, focused on strengthening and deepinging its value-based care capabilities and innovative clinical solutions across UnitedHealth Group and working across health care to advocate for comprehensive, equitable care that addresses a person’s whole health.

“On a personal note, it has been a great honor leading Optum Health for nearly five years,” Decker said in a Linkedin post. “Being part of an organization that has matured into a leading national integrated care platform has been one of the greatest experiences in my life. Optum Health is in great hands with my colleague and friend, Amar A. Desai, MD, MPH.”