UnitedHealth Says DOJ Investigating Its Medicare Billing Practices

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) on Thursday disclosed that the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) is investigating the company over its medicare billing practices.

In a filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), UnitedHealth said it is complying with criminal and civil requests from the DOJ. In the meantime, it has also hired a third-party firm to review its business policies.

UnitedHealth’s shares were down nearly 4% in Thursday’s pre-market trading session at the time of writing. Stocktwits data showed the retail sentiment around the stock was in the ‘bullish’ territory at the time of writing.

This comes after The Wall Street Journal reported in May that the DOJ had begun a criminal investigation into UnitedHealth over possible Medicare fraud.

At the time, the insurance giant said it stood by the integrity of its “Medicare Advantage” program.

Subsequently, in July, the Journal reported that the DOJ had interviewed doctors to determine if they were under any pressure from UnitedHealth to submit claims for specific conditions in a manner that would boost Medicare Advantage payments to the company.

In 2024, UnitedHealth’s subsidiary, UnitedHealthcare, came under intense scrutiny after its CEO, Brian Thompson, was shot and killed in Midtown Manhattan.

UnitedHealth said it reached out to the DOJ after reviewing media reports about investigations into certain aspects of its participation in the Medicare program.

The firm runs one of the largest health insurance and pharmacy benefits management businesses in the U.S.

UNH stock is down 42% year-to-date and 48% over the past 12 months.

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