While details of the probe are unclear, it reportedly started last summer and focuses
America’s largest medical insurer, the UnitedHealth Group (UHG), is under criminal investigation by the Justice Department for possible Medicare fraud, reports the Wall Street Journal.
While details of the probe are unclear, it reportedly started last summer and focuses on UHG’s Medicare Advantage practices. The company says it hasn’t been notified by the DOJ.
It is part of the Trump administration’s crackdown on Medicare billing practices as it is looking into cutting federal health spending.
The news comes as UHG reels from a series of blows. Its CEO, Andrew Witty, suddenly stepped down this week, and the company pulled its 2025 sales forecast.
Its stock has dropped over 50% in the past month, including a 16% plunge on Thursday, hitting its lowest price since 2020.
In December 2024, Brian Thompson, the CEO of its insurance wing, UnitedHealthcare, was fatally shot in New York.
The same year, its patient payment provider, Change Healthcare, suffered one of the largest cyberattacks in US history, affecting 100 million customers.
According to its latest annual securities filing, UHG indicates it is under “various governmental investigations, audits and reviews.”