From Optum Health’s earnings rebound to a new chief marketing officer, here are 10 updates on UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiaries that Becker’s has reported since Oct. 7:
1. UnitedHealthcare and the Ohio Chamber of Commerce agreed to settle a lawsuit that accused the insurer of using its role as the chamber’s health plan administrator to steer small businesses toward its own products.
2. Kraft Heinz and Ralph Lauren are among a group of six large self-insured employers suing UnitedHealth, alleging the insurer routinely approved and paid false, fraudulent and inflated medical claims with their employee health plan money while pocketing undisclosed fees.
3. Optum is asking a Baltimore court to throw out Maryland’s $380 million fraud lawsuit over a failed Medicaid behavioral health claims system, calling the state’s allegations “a story that it knows is untrue.”
4. UnitedHealth Group’s count of subsidiaries and related entities has reached 2,807, according to the latest “Sunlight Report,” published in October.
5. Rocky Novak joined UnitedHealth Group as chief marketing officer, effective Oct. 29.
6. Optum Health’s earnings from operations climbed to $735 million in the third quarter, up from $41 million a year earlier, as UnitedHealth Group’s care delivery arm continues to recover from a challenging 2025.
7. Arbitration awards under the No Surprises Act can reach nearly 6% of total commercial medical spend in some regions, UnitedHealthcare CEO Tim Noel said during the company’s third-quarter earnings call.
8. UnitedHealth Group reported $4.1 billion in profit for the third quarter of 2026, up 75% year over year.
9. UnitedHealthcare’s AI assistant Avery is now available to 21 million commercial, Medicare and Medicaid members.
10. Minneapolis-based Fairview Health Services filed a lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare, alleging false advertising tied to the insurer’s 2027 Medicare Advantage plans.
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