UnitedHealth Group, the titan of private insurance, is now in the crosshairs of the Department of Justice over its Medicare billing practices.
According to CNBC, the nation’s largest private insurer disclosed on Thursday that it faces both criminal and civil investigations by the DOJ, centered on potential fraud in its Medicare Advantage program, while grappling with a plummeting stock price, executive upheaval, and ongoing federal scrutiny.
Let’s rewind to earlier challenges in 2024, when UnitedHealth faced a historic cyberattack and public outrage following the tragic murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. These events set a tumultuous backdrop for the company’s current woes.
Fast forward to February 2025, when The Wall Street Journal reported that the DOJ was conducting a civil investigation into whether UnitedHealth inflated diagnoses to secure additional payments for its Medicare Advantage plans.
In March 2025, a silver lining emerged as a special master’s recommendation sided with UnitedHealth in a long-running legal battle with the DOJ. The report noted a lack of evidence in a whistleblower case alleging the company withheld billions through the same program.
But the reprieve was short-lived. By May 2025, the Journal reported a criminal investigation into possible Medicare fraud at UnitedHealth, coinciding with the abrupt departure of CEO Andrew Witty.
In July 2025, the Journal reported that the DOJ had interviewed several doctors about UnitedHealth’s practices. The focus? Whether they felt pressured to file claims for conditions that boosted payments from Medicare Advantage.
UnitedHealth, for its part, has pushed back. In response to the May report, the company affirmed it “stands by” the integrity of its program.
On Thursday, UnitedHealth officially disclosed the investigations in a securities filing, stating it is cooperating fully with both criminal and civil requests from the DOJ. This transparency might be a strategic move to rebuild trust.
The market didn’t take the news lightly—UnitedHealth shares dropped about 2% on Thursday alone. Worse, the stock is down over 42% for the year, battered by soaring medical costs, the suspended 2025 forecast, and now these probes.
UnitedHealth isn’t sitting idle. It has launched a third-party review of its business policies and performance metrics, expected to wrap up by the end of Q3 2025. Investors are bracing for more clarity. Company executives are set to face tough questions during the second-quarter earnings call on July 29, 2025.
Why does this matter so much? UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare and retirement segment, which includes Medicare Advantage, is the company’s largest revenue driver, raking in $139 billion last year.
For free-market advocates, this saga raises questions about the balance between government overreach and corporate accountability. While UnitedHealth claims its practices are among the most accurate in the industry—backed by independent audits from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services—skeptics wonder if federal scrutiny is distorting a critical private-sector solution.
Investors, take note: UnitedHealth’s cooperation with the DOJ could signal a path to resolution, but volatility looms. As Jared Holz of Mizuho Securities noted, this isn’t “shocking,” and the company’s approach “sounds logical” with a new CEO on the horizon. Consider balancing risk by diversifying healthcare holdings while monitoring earnings updates for actionable insights.