UnitedHealth Invests in Behavioral Health: A Bet on Future Demand?

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated UNH is actively expanding its focus on behavioral health, one of the most rapidly growing areas in today’s care world. The company has expanded access to virtual coaching, digital therapy platforms, and integrated behavioral health support within primary care through its Optum division. This approach is in line with the growing trend in healthcare that recognizes mental health as a vital part of overall health.

Per the National Institute of Mental Health, over one in five U.S. adults lives with a mental, behavioral or emotional disorder. Also, it is seen that females are dealing with depression more than men. The Optum segment is changing the mental health care landscape through various strategic partnerships, including Calm, Equip, AbleTo and Supportiv. These initiatives aim to bridge the gap encountered by many patients in obtaining timely and reasonably priced care.

By integrating behavioral health into primary care, UNH is taking steps toward a more comprehensive, preventive approach that could help lower long-term costs for both the company and its members. If executed well, UNH’s approach to behavioral health could boost member satisfaction, reduce claims and solidify its position as a frontrunner in integrated care.

All these show that UnitedHealth is not just adapting to immediate needs but also making a strategic investment in the future of healthcare demand. This could lead to stronger membership, improved retention rates and a more sustainable growth path. In the first half of 2025, UNH reported 5.8% year-over-year growth in revenues in its Optum business.

How Are Competitors Faring?

However, finding the right balance in scaling these services and staying competitive in the digital behavioral arena can be quite challenging with expansions from its peers, including Elevance Health, Inc. ELV and Humana Inc. HUM.

Elevance Health, through its Carelon segment, focuses on delivering digital behavioral health services, and provides virtual therapy and support tools to expand access and improve patient outcomes. Elevance Health’s Carelon segment’s operating revenues rallied 36% year over year in the second quarter of 2025.

Humana, in partnership with Charlie Health, provides digital health services, including tailored virtual therapy and offers digital tools and telehealth options for its members to access care. Humana’s CenterWell segment’s revenues rose 11.9% year over year in the second quarter of 2025.

UnitedHealth’s Price Performance, Valuation & Estimates

Shares of UNH have declined 39.2% in the year-to-date period compared with the industry’s fall of 30.8%.

From a valuation standpoint, UnitedHealth trades at a forward price-to-earnings ratio of 18.03, above the industry average of 14.96. UNH carries a Value Score of B.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for UnitedHealth’s 2025 earnings is pegged at $16.21 per share, implying a 41.4% drop from the year-ago period.

The stock currently carries a Zacks Rank #5 (Strong Sell).

You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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