The Department of Justice has launched an investigation into UnitedHealth Group’s Medicare billing practices as scrutiny over the health insurance industry intensifies, according to a report.
The Department of Justice has reportedly launched an investigation into UnitedHealth Group’s Medicare billing practices as scrutiny over the health insurance industry intensifies — sending the company’s stock plummeting.
The probe is analyzing the company’s practice of frequently logging diagnoses that trigger larger payments to its Medicare Advantage plans, according to The Wall Street Journal.
UnitedHealth shares plunged nearly 9% Friday.
A series of Wall Street Journal reports last year found that Medicare paid UnitedHealth billions of dollars for questionable diagnoses.
Certain diagnoses produce larger lump-sum payments for insurers in the Medicare Advantage system.
“The Journal has engaged in a year-long campaign to defend a legacy system that rewards volume over keeping patients healthy and addressing their underlying conditions,” UnitedHealth said in a statement. “Any suggestion that our practices are fraudulent is outrageous and false.
