22-Jan-18, Forbes
UnitedHealth Group executives look at Latin America and see the US healthcare market of the early 1990s before private health insurers were involved much at all in the management of Americans’ government subsidized health benefits.
%20Forbes.jpg "UnitedHealth Sees A New Frontier In Latin America (c) Forbes")
Image: Forbes
Private insurers like UnitedHealth, Aetna, Humana, Cigna and others began to take a far greater role following the Balanced Budget Act of 1997, which slowed the growth of Medicare spending. UnitedHealth executives see history repeating itself in South America, opening the door to a potential bonanza of business.
Already, UnitedHealth operates Amil, Brazil’s largest healthcare company, serving more than 4 million people. And last year, UnitedHealth disclosed a tender offer of USD2.8 bn for Chile-based Empresas Banmédica, which provides healthcare service and insurance to 2.1 million people in Chile, Columbia and Peru.