From announcing plans to drop prior authorization requirements for 1,700 services to facing a lawsuit from the Maryland attorney general, here are 10 updates on UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiaries that Becker’s has reported since Aug. 26:
1. Ujjwal Ratan joined UnitedHealth Group’s consulting and analytics division, Optum Insight, as chief AI officer.
2. UnitedHealth Group said its Medicare Advantage business is outperforming initial margin targets for 2026, crediting deliberate financial recovery moves that meant fewer members this year.
3. UnitedHealth Group’s Optum sold interest in some of Optum’s Florida WellMed clinics to private equity company TPG.
4. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce is suing UnitedHealthcare over allegations the insurer withheld data and used confidential information obtained as the administrator of the chamber’s health benefits program to steer small businesses into its own plans.
5. Mississippi Insurance Commissioner Mike Chaney confirmed UnitedHealthcare will offer short-term, limited-duration insurance through the Mississippi Comprehensive Health Insurance Risk Pool Association, with a projected start date in 2027.
6. UnitedHealthcare released the specific procedure codes it will exempt from prior authorization as part of the insurer’s previous pledge to reduce requirements by 30% before the end of 2026. The code lists cover 1,700 procedure codes for a range of services across commercial, Medicare Advantage, individual exchange, and Medicaid plans.
7. Fort Myers, Fla.-based Lee Health said it would terminate hospital and physician contracts with UnitedHealthcare at the end of 2026.
8. Maryland Attorney General Anthony Brown filed a lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group and Optum, seeking $380 million in damages stemming from alleged issues administering a Medicaid behavioral health program.
9. Mona Chitre, PharmD, will serve as the market president for the newly created employer and government markets segment under Optum Rx, UnitedHealth Group’s pharmacy benefit manager.
10. A former senior director of data analytics at Optum was sentenced to three years in federal prison for creating a no-show job for a friend and pocketing kickbacks from their salary.
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