Shareholders Demand Review of UnitedHealthcare Claims Denials
On Wednesday, UnitedHealth Group shareholders requested the company prepare a report on the costs and public health impact related to UnitedHealth’s practices that limit or delay access to healthcare,' Reuters' Amina Niasse and Ross Kerber reported on January 9.
The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), a group representing faith-based shareholders, said it has filed a shareholder petition requesting the company to review how often prior authorization requirements and denials of coverage from UnitedHealthcare lead to patients postponing or forsaking medical treatment as well as serious adverse events for individuals, Christopher Snowbeck wrote for The Minnesota Star Tribune.
"The pattern of delays and denials of necessary medical care by UnitedHealth and other insurance companies harms more than just the patient themselves," Wendell Potter, president of the Center for Health & Democracy and a former Cigna executive, said in a statement sent in support of the resolution by ICCR.
“UnitedHealth Group has been the subject of recent media and legislative scrutiny due to its market dominance as well as allegations surrounding its Medicare Advantage health plans and use of artificial intelligence in claims denials,” Timnit Ghermay of the Congregation des Soeurs des Saints Noms de Jesus et de Marie, said in a statement obtained by Snowbeck for The Star Tribune.
"Highly inaccurate and grossly misleading information has been circulated about our company's treatment of insurance claims," UnitedHealth Group said in a statement on December 13. "UnitedHealthcare approves and pays about 90 percent of medical claims upon submission."
“We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustrations with it. No one would design a system like the one we have. And no one did. It’s a patchwork built over decades,” Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealth Group, wrote in a New York Times op-ed published on December 13. “[W]e need to improve how we explain what insurance covers and how decisions are made. Behind each decision lies a comprehensive and continually updated body of clinical evidence focused on achieving the best health outcomes and ensuring patient safety.”