Why is Optum getting out of telehealth?

I was intrigued, but not entirely surprised, to see the news of Optum pulling out of its telehealth business. Endpoints reported the news, and Optum responded by issuing a statement describing virtual care as core to its strategy.

So if telehealth is critical, why make that move now?

Well, there’s a lot of reasons that I could see a big payer deploying resources elsewhere. Let’s dive in, but bear in mind that I don’t have inside knowledge of Optum’s thinking. I’ll weigh in as a human who follows the telehealth industry far too closely, and integrate some expertise from providers and operators on the front lines.