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Optum—the large subsidiary of UnitedHealthcare that delivers clinical care and employs physicians and other providers—is scaling back some of its specialty services and locations in New Jersey, according to local outlet NJ.com. Letters notified patients that about 90 locations in the state would shutter in December, reducing its offerings in several areas, such as behavioral health, dermatology, and orthopedics. However, a spokesperson told Patch providers would continue to offer pediatric, primary care, cardiology, rheumatology, and urgent care in certain locations across the state. The company website currently displays just 2 urgent care locations, both in the city of Vineland. Additionally, Optum is letting go 572 employees by the first quarter of next year, according to a state filing.
New Jersey urgent care market: Through the third quarter of 2025, 12 urgent cares in New Jersey have closed, leaving 394 urgent care centers remaining in the state, according to data from Urgent Care Consultants. The leading causes of closure are “structural deficits” and the “COVID correction”—meaning opportunistic operators who built pandemic business plans expecting a continuation of 2021-2022 visit volumes and historically low interest rates are now facing insolvency—says Alan A. Ayers, MBA, MAcc, President of Urgent Care Consultants and Senior Editor of JUCM. Post-pandemic, volume-driven revenue combined with wage inflation has become insufficient to service rising debt, Ayers says. The changes could lay the groundwork for more changes in the New Jersey market in 2026.