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In another example of the blurring boundaries in the health care industry, UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest insurers, said on Wednesday that it is buying a large physician group to add to its existing roster of 30,000 doctors. UnitedHealth’s Optum unit will acquire the physician group from DaVita, a large for-profit chain of dialysis centers, for about $4.9 billion in cash, subject to regulatory approval. DaVita operates nearly 300 clinics across a half-dozen states, including California and Florida. (Abelson, 12/6)

UnitedHealth Group Inc., the nation's biggest health insurer, is spending nearly $5 billion to buy hundreds of clinics, just three days after rival Aetna Inc. announced a tie-up with CVS Health Corp. Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth said Wednesday that its Optum segment will buy the DaVita Medical Group from DaVita Inc. in a cash deal expected to close next year. (12/6)

DaVita Medical Group's physician network provides care to approximately 1.7 million patients every year via its 300 clinics in California, Colorado, Florida, Nevada, New Mexico and Washington state. The group also runs 35 urgent-care centers and six outpatient surgery centers. "Combining DaVita Medical Group and Optum advances our shared goal of supporting physicians in delivering exceptional patient care in innovative and efficient ways while working with more than 300 healthcare payers across Optum in ways that better meet the needs of their members," Optum CEO Larry C. Renfro said in a statement. (Teichert, 12/6)

“Combining DaVita Medical Group and Optum advances our shared goal of supporting physicians in delivering exceptional patient care in innovative and efficient ways,” Larry Renfro, chief executive officer of Optum, said in a statement Wednesday.(Tracer, 12/6)

UnitedHealth Group Inc. is that kid in school who's always doing better than you. The $214 billion company announced on Wednesday that it's buying DaVita Inc.'s physician-network business for $4.9 billion. It's just the latest step in UnitedHealth's push to diversify its revenue. Thanks to deals over the past few years, the company isn't just the largest private U.S. health insurer, it's also a pharmacy-benefit manager, a health care analytics company and increasingly a provider of medical care through physician clinics, outpatient services and urgent care centers. (Brooke Sutherland and Max Nisen, 12/6)

Congressional Democrats are expressing alarm over the proposed merger between CVS Health and a health insurer, fearing it will lead to higher costs and less choice for consumers.CVS Health, a drug store chain, announced over the weekend that it has agreed to b uy Aetna for about $69 billion in what could be, if approved, the largest health insurance deal in U.S. history. (Hellmann, 12/7)