UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE: UNH) subsidiary Optum, which holds a substantial home health and hospice business, continues to be a major driver of the company’s growth.

Optum is in the process of acquiring the home health and hospice provider Amedisys (NASDAQ: AMED), with closing expected before the end of the year, pending some regulatory hurdles. Optum last June penned its agreement to acquire Amedisys in an all-cash transaction of $101 per share, or about $3.3 billion.

The Amedisys deal is among a slew of large acquisitions by Optum, which include the home health and hospice provider LHC Group and the health care tech company Change Healthcare. Optum closed its $5.4 billion acquisition of LHC Group in February 2023.

During Q2, Optum’s home-based care arm contributed significantly to both revenue growth and cost savings, according to UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty. Optum clinicians made more than 2.5 million home visits during 2023, which generated cost savings through reductions in hospitalizations and readmissions.

While the company didn’t indicate how many of these were hospice visits, a large proportion were home health activities reimbursed through Medicare Advantage plans.

“Medicare Advantage patients with chronic conditions who receive these home visits end up with better managed and more stable health outcomes, as evidenced by spending measurably less time than fee-for-service patients in emergency rooms and other hospital settings,” Witty said during an earnings call. “The bottom line, our home visit programs help patients live healthier lives and save taxpayers money. It is only Medicare Advantage that makes programs and results like this possible.”

UnitedHealth Group saw revenues increase by $14 billion during the first half of 2024, Witty indicated. These results were led by double-digit growth at Optum. In Q2 alone, the insurance and health care giant’s revenues reached $98.9 billion.

Meanwhile, Optum’s second quarter revenues of $62.9 billion grew by $6 billion year-over-year. This includes growth from both its pharmacy and health care services business segments, OptumRx and Optum Health.

The company did see adverse impacts from the massive cyberattack against its Change Healthcare subsidiary earlier this year, to the tune of $1.1 billion, as well as some headwinds in its international business.

During the second quarter, the cyberattack led to a $0.92 decline in earnings per share, with the full-year impact estimated to reach between $1.90 and $2.05.

“The other component affecting our results relates to disruption of the ongoing Change Healthcare business,” UnitedHealth Group President and CFO John Rex said during the earnings call. “This largely encompasses the loss of revenues combined with the costs of keeping these capabilities fully ready to serve.”