The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, a coalition of faith- and values-based investors, filed a shareholder resolution requesting UnitedHealth Group publish a report “describing the healthcare consequences of its acquisitions over the past 10 years,” according to a Dec. 22 news release.
Shareholder concerns span reimbursement rates, the availability of independent practices, care quality, UnitedHealth’s pharmacy benefit manager ownership and narrower networks. While up to the board’s discretion, the shareholders also suggested reporting data on prior authorizations, reimbursement differentials and patient outcomes.
UnitedHealth’s more notable acquisitions include healthcare technology company Change Healthcare and home healthcare services provider LHC Group. The resolution said, as a result of the company’s many acquisitions, 25% of claim dollars go to its own subsidiaries.
The activist shareholders have spoken out earlier in the year, as well, expressing interest in a report addressing “public health-related costs and macroeconomic risks created by the company’s practices that limit or delay access to healthcare.”
Becker’s has contacted UnitedHealth Group for comment and will update this story if more information becomes available.
