UnitedHealth complies with DOJ criminal, civil requests, filing shows
The disclosure was made in a regulatory filing, marking a shift in tone for the healthcare conglomerate, which earlier this year amid media reports of a civil as well as criminal investigation, said it was unaware of any new probes and denied wrongdoing.
The company said it proactively reached out to the Department of Justice after reviewing the media reports about its participation in the Medicare program, and that it is committed to cooperating with federal authorities.
The DOJ did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
More: UnitedHealth accused of secret nursing home payments to cut hospital transfers
Shares of UnitedHealth slipped 3.5% in early trading, continuing a major slide that has seen the stock shed over 40% of its value this year, amid growing investor frustration over management missteps.
The Wall Street Journal has published a series of reports stating that the DOJ was investigating UnitedHealth's Medicare business, a U.S. government program that covers medical costs for individuals aged 65 and older and those with disabilities.
"There's just been several instances especially this year where they've (UNH) kind of had to walk back things that they've said or the company (is) obscuring some of the details… that's become very frustrating for investors," James Harlow, senior vice president at Novare Capital Management said.
UnitedHealth said it has full confidence in its practices and noted that independent audits by CMS have ranked its methods among the most accurate in the industry.
More: UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty stepping down due to 'personal reasons'
The company also pointed to favorable decision from a court-appointed special master in a decade-long civil challenge by the department to aspects of its Medicare Advantage business, which concluded that there was no evidence to support claims of wrongdoing.
J.P.Morgan analyst Lisa Gill said in a note that UnitedHealth's "proactive" approach to work with regulators was not surprising. She said that under the False Claims Act, the burden of proof would fall squarely on the DOJ.
UnitedHealth also said it has launched its own initiative to conduct third-party reviews of policies, practices, associated processes and performance metrics for risk assessment coding, managed care practices and pharmacy services.
(Reporting by Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Pooja Desai and Shinjini Ganguli)
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