America’s Biggest Health Insurer Is Falling Hard

The single-largest health insurance company in the US appears to be hitting every step on its tumble down the stairs.

In the latest setback for UnitedHealth Group (UHG), the Justice Department is investigating it for potential criminal fraud in its Medicare Advantage business, the Wall Street Journal reported this week. UHG called the report “deeply irresponsible” and said it hadn’t heard from the Justice Department.

The report comes as it’s already facing a civil fraud investigation into alleged overbilling, which may soon get dismissed, and an antitrust probe the DOJ opened in 2024. There are also several more compounding crises:

• UHG’s CEO of four years suddenly stepped down earlier this week for “personal reasons,” and the company suspended its 2025 sales guidance.
• Investors sued UHG this month for allegedly downplaying the business impact of the December killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, which spotlighted widespread public frustrations with the insurance industry.
• All that came after the largest healthcare cyberattack in history, which may have affected 100 million customers of Change Healthcare (owned by UHG) in October.

Like falling off the road in Mario Kart: UnitedHealth Group dropped from No. 1 on the Dow in mid-April to 16th place at one point yesterday, according to Investopedia. Its share price fell more than 50% during the same period—its biggest one-month decline ever.

Crackdown season: Federal officials have also accused Aetna, Humana, and Elevance (formerly Anthem) of defrauding the government by pushing Medicare Advantage plans with the highest kickbacks in a civil lawsuit filed this month.—ML