NEW YORK, NY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2024 – Shareholders of UnitedHealth Group ($UNH) today announced that they had filed a proposal for the 2025 proxy requesting that the Board of Directors prepare a report on the public health-related costs and macroeconomic risks created by the company’s practices that limit or delay access to healthcare.
Specifically, shareholders recommend that the report evaluate how company practices impact access to healthcare and patient outcomes, including analyses of how often prior authorization requirements or denials of coverage lead to delay or abandonment of medical treatment, and serious adverse events for patients.
The proponents are institutional investors who have been engaging UNH and other companies in the healthcare sector for many years around questions of access and affordability. As investors with diversified holdings, they argue that while UNH’s policies may boost short-term revenue, its vertically integrated business model and escalating costs disempower patients, create long-term reputational and legal risks for the company and pose broader risks to the economy that, by extension, threaten investors’ total portfolios.
Said Timnit Ghermay of the Congregation des Soeurs des Saints Noms de Jesus et de Marie who led the filing of the proposal, “UNH has been in the media and legislative spotlight for some time given its market dominance, aggressive marketing of Medicare Advantage and questionable use of AI algorithms to deny care to patients. As the tragic murder of UNH’s Brian Thompson made evident, public outrage over the exorbitant costs and restricted access to healthcare has reached a dangerous level in our country. Our proposal suggests some introspection by UNH that will help the company and all its stakeholders thrive.”
As the 4th largest company in the U.S. owning not only insurers but also providers, the power and influence of UNH over the U.S. economy cannot be overstated. It is estimated that over 5 percent of U.S. gross domestic product flows through the company’s systems daily touching millions of Americans. This power, and the profits UNH generates, have attracted the scrutiny of legislators who are calling for the company to be split up and reformed. According to STAT, “Lawmakers and regulators have sharply criticized the company for excessive profiteering within its Medicare Advantage business. It is being sued for allegedly using an error-prone algorithm to systematically deny care to older Americans…It is facing a federal antitrust investigation and a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to block its proposed acquisition of the home health provider Amedisys.”
And, in a comment provided to STAT, CT Sen. Richard Blumenthal, long an advocate for a more accessible and affordable healthcare system said, “Insurers need to respect that they have a public trust. What I have found over the years is that anger has been building, and I would assume it will continue to rise — both anger and fear — because more and more people are feeling the effects of denials and delays in care that they need.”
Jenn Coffey, a UNH Medicare Advantage policyholder, said, “Before I got sick, I was an ambulance EMT, getting people the care they needed. Once I got cancer and complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), the care I needed was denied. There’s no sugarcoating it. I lost my health, home, car, and career, and sold everything I owned because UnitedHealth would not authorize or pay for treatment. These practices put patients at risk. We should not have to fight delays and denials. I urge shareholders to ask if UnitedHealth should prioritize profits over people’s health – or commit to covering our care.”
In their proposals, investors argue that to accommodate increased healthcare costs, consumers often take on credit card debt, cut back on necessities and discretionary spending, or drain retirement savings – tactics that negatively impact the economy and their portfolios. Worsening health outcomes, loss of wages or underemployment, low credit ratings due to inability to pay medical debt, and the associated inability to attain stable housing may all lead to depressed worker productivity, reduced consumer spending power, and greater reliance on public assistance programs which are clear drags on the broader economy.
“The pattern of delays and denials of necessary medical care by UnitedHealth Group and other insurance companies harms more than just the patient themselves,” said Wendell Potter, President of the Center for Health & Democracy and a former executive at The Cigna Group. “The withholding of payment for medical care means that workers cannot do their jobs because they are sick, families cannot pay their bills or contribute to the economy, and employers must pay higher prices for health benefits for their employees. It is important to analyze and understand the wider effects of care denial practices by UNH on the broader economy.”
About the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR)
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