The Department of Justice is carrying out a criminal investigation into UnitedHealth Group for possible Medicare fraud, The Wall Street Journal reported on Wednesday. The company's stock slipped 8% in after-hours trade following the report, which follows a series of problems at the insurer. While the exact nature of the criminal allegations is unclear, the probe by the healthcare fraud unit of the DOJ's criminal division has been active since at least last summer.
The Medicaid portion of the House GOP's massive domestic policy bill would result in 10.3 million people losing Medicaid coverage by 2034 and 7.6 million people going uninsured, according to a partial Congressional Budget Office estimate. Republicans released the estimates just ahead of the start of Tuesday's markup of the Energy and Commerce portion of the party-line legislation, which is key to enacting President Trump's agenda. The uninsured numbers include 1.4 million people without verified citizenship who would be removed from the program and 4.8 million people who would lose coverage because of work requirements, the committee said.
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will testify before Congress today for the first time since taking the role of U.S. health secretary, and will face questions over the firing of thousands of health agency employees and a fast-growing measles outbreak.
CMS said on Monday that it would announce a list of 15 drugs eligible for a third round of Medicare price negotiations by early February next year. For the first time, the list would include drugs payable under Medicare Part B - which covers medicines administered in a doctor's office or hospital - in addition to prescription drugs covered under Medicare Part D, CMS said.
UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty is stepping down for personal reasons and the nation's largest health insurer suspended its full-year financial outlook due to higher-than-expected medical costs. Chairman Stephen Hemsley will become CEO, effective immediately, the Minnesota company said.
Mark Bertolini, formerly the CEO of Aetna (CVS), says narrow networks and lower cost options in the ACA marketplace are better for individuals, but that Aetna's exit isn't good for the market. Still, Aetna's exit bodes well for Oscar, which had 'significant overlap' with them, Bertolini says.