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UnitedHealth Group has gobbled up physician practices at an astounding rate — roughly 20,000 last year alone. Most of them share a common trait: They’re independent groups, not affiliated with hospital chains.

The Minnesota conglomerate’s plan to roll Stewardship Health, the physician arm of for-profit Steward Health Care, into its Optum subsidiary would mark a noteworthy departure from its usual fare. News of the proposed deal broke last week, but neither of the two famously secretive companies would share details on the plan, including the purchase price.

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Steward has been having well-publicized financial problems for years, and selling off its nine-state physician practice is part of the six-point recovery framework it announced in February. But while Stewardship has hundreds of primary care doctors and other physicians in Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Florida, Texas, Ohio, and other states, it’s unclear how many clinicians it employs and in what specialties. Josephine Martin, a Steward spokesperson, did not respond to requests for comment.

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