UnitedHealth’s Stock Price Plummets After WSJ Report of Federal Criminal Investigation
The company called the newspaper reporting ‘deeply irresponsible.’
The Department of Justice has opened a criminal investigation into UnitedHealth Group for possible Medicaid fraud, The Wall Street Journal reported yesterday.
The newspaper report, which is based on anonymous sources, is another jolt for the largest U.S. healthcare company, which announced on Tuesday that its CEO was stepping down for personal reasons and that it had suspended its financial outlook for the year.
The company responded to the newspaper report with a statement late yesterday that called the Journal’s reporting “deeply irresponsible” and that it stood by the integrity of its Medicare Advantage program. The statement says the company has not been notified of the “supposed criminal investigation.”
The company’s stock has lost half of its value since early April, when it announced that it was lowering its expected earnings per share for 2025 by 12% for several reasons, chief among them higher use of medical services by its members. The stock price plunged further yesterday, and Forbes asked in a headline whether the company’s stock had become a “falling knife,” investment slang for a stock whose price is expected to fall further so buying it would mean future losses.
Until this year, UnitedHealth Group was considered one of the safest bets in the stock market.
The Wall Street Journal published a series of investigative articles last year that reported on questionable practices by UnitedHealth and other insurers that boosted their payments in the Medicare Advantage. The company said the articles, which were a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize, were inaccurate and biased.
The Minnesota-based healthcare giant also weathered a massively disruptive cyberattack of its claim processing business, Change Healthcare, in February 2024. In December 2024, the CEO of its insurance division was shot and killed on a street in Midtown Manhattan.
The company coupled Tuesday’s announcement that CEO Andrew Witty was stepping down for personal reasons with news that the board chairman and former CEO Stephen Hemsley was taking Witty’s place.
Conversations With Perry and Friends: Paul Fronstin, Ph.D.
May 9th 2025Perry Cohen, Pharm.D., a longtime member of the Managed Healthcare Executive editorial advisory board, is host of the Conversations with Perry and Friends podcast. In this episode, his guest is Paul Fronstin, Ph.D., director of health benefits research at the Employee Benefit Research Institute.
Listen
The First Financial Toxicity Tumor Board Reports Success in Individual Patient Savings
May 14th 2025Financial toxicity can affect patient outcomes and quality of life. For example, a patient may forgo treatment or medications to save money, or they may incur high medical debt or go into bankruptcy to pay for medical care.
Read More
Conversations With Perry and Friends
April 14th 2025Perry Cohen, Pharm.D., a longtime member of the Managed Healthcare Executive editorial advisory board, is host of the Conversations with Perry and Friends podcast. His guest this episode is John Baackes, the former CEO of L.A. Care Health Plan.
Listen
Fierce Debate Breaks Out Over GOP Bill That Could Strip Millions of Medicaid Coverage
May 13th 2025A Republican-led bill aiming to tighten Medicaid eligibility and impose work requirements sparked heated protests and clashes amongst House parties, with critics warning it could leave millions without health coverage.
Read More
