For years before the shooting of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO, regulators unsuccessfully fought to enforce antitrust regulation against the growing health care giant.
In 2022, the Justice Department sued to stop the insurer’s parent company from a merger that gave it access to the patient data of its rivals. Federal prosecutors argued UnitedHealth Group’s acquisition represented “an inflection point in the health care industry,” saying it would stifle innovation, leading to worse outcomes and higher medical bills. But the judge in the case ignored decades of investigations and lawsuits alleging the health care company used market consolidation to limit care. He ruled the purchase would result in “less waste and lower costs.”
Left unsaid at the time was that the judge in question had a financial interest in UnitedHealth Group.
The judge’s decision was just one of many instances in which UnitedHealth Group was allowed to keep expanding unchecked. Since then, the company has rapidly increased its share of the US health care system. Far from reducing costs, these consolidations have led to skyrocketing claim denials and a data breach that ground hospitals and pharmacies to a halt nationwide.
UnitedHealthcare has the largest market share of all health insurance companies, raking in $372 billion in revenue last year. The behemoth sells commercial policies and provides over nine million plans through Medicare Advantage, a federal program through which private companies provide insurance for people over 65 and those with disabilities.
The corporation has also gone far beyond just selling insurance.
In an investor conference this year, UnitedHealth Group’s chief executive officer Andrew Witty promoted its sprawling reach, which now…
Auteur: Lois Parshley
