UnitedHealth Adopts 23 Ongoing 'Action Plans' Following Independent Audit Of Its Practices: Report

• UnitedHealth CEO Steve Hemsley said two independent consultancies found the company’s policies to be “robust, rigorous, and generally sound.”
• The two firms involved in the investigation were FTI Consulting and The Analytics Group.
• While FTI Consulting reviewed UnitedHealthcare’s risk assessment approach for Medicare Advantage programs, The Analytics Group reviewed Optum Rx's policies and processes.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) on Friday reportedly released the first results of an independent audit of its business practices and stated that it has adopted 23 ongoing “action plans” to track and implement the improvements recommended.

According to a CNBC report, UnitedHealth aims to complete 65% of the “action plans” by the end of 2025, and 100% of those recommendations by the end of March 2026.

This comes after UnitedHealth announced in July the launch of a third-party review of its business practices and performance metrics. It had also announced the launch of investigations by the U.S. Department of Justice into the insurer’s Medicare billing practices.

UnitedHealth shares were up nearly 2% in Friday morning’s trade. Retail sentiment on Stocktwits around the company trended in the ‘bearish’ territory at the time of writing.

Findings Of The Investigation

UnitedHealth CEO Steve Hemsley said two independent consultancies found the company’s policies to be “robust, rigorous, and generally sound,” according to the report.

“We hope that you see these assessments as a commitment to setting a new standard of transparency for the health care marketplace, as we believe that you and every person who engages with our health system deserves to understand how we go about our work,” he said in a letter, according to the report.

The two firms involved in the investigation were FTI Consulting and The Analytics Group. While FTI Consulting reviewed UnitedHealthcare’s risk assessment approach for Medicare Advantage programs, The Analytics Group reviewed Optum Rx's policies and processes.

UnitedHealthcare is UNH’s insurance and managed care company, while Optum Rx is UnitedHealth’s own Pharmacy Benefit Manager (PBM).

DOJ Investigation

UnitedHealth’s insurance and PBM operations came under DOJ investigation earlier this year, with President Trump calling PBMs middlemen and pledging to eliminate their role in a bid to lower drug prices.

In response, UnitedHealth stated that it is complying with criminal and civil requests from the DOJ. It added that independent audits have confirmed that its practices are among the “most accurate” in the industry.

UnitedHealth also pointed to a court-appointed Special Master concluding there was no evidence to support claims of wrongdoing, following a decade-long civil challenge by the DOJ to aspects of its Medicare Advantage business.

UNH stock is down 34% year-to-date and 32% over the past 12 months.

Also See: El Erian Sees A New ‘Unsettling’ Economic Risk Emerging In 2026 – And It’s Not Inflation Or Affordability

For updates and corrections, email newsroom[at]stocktwits[dot]com.

Share

·

Add us on