From accusing two former executives of stealing trade secrets to selling its health insurance and hospital operations in Brazil, here are 12 updates on UnitedHealth Group Becker's has reported since Dec. 12:
1. UnitedHealthcare went out of network with Little Rock, Ark.-based Baptist Health's hospitals and providers after the payer and health system were unable to reach agreement on a new contract.
2. UnitedHealth Group is suing a group of corporate entities founded by two of its former executives after they allegedly stole and used confidential information from the company to create their own competing product for diabetes management.
3. St. Louis-based SSM Health and UnitedHealth Group's Optum ended their administrative partnership around inpatient care management, digital transformation and revenue cycle management.
4. UnitedHealthcare moved six Mount Sinai Health System hospitals out of network Jan. 1 amid a contract dispute between the payer and New York City-based health system.
5. UnitedHealth Group's Optum, the largest employer of physicians in the U.S., is seeking to acquire physician-owned Corvallis (Ore.) Clinic.
6. UnitedHealthcare and Greenville, S.C.-based Prisma Health went out of network Jan. 1 after the two sides failed to reach a new agreement.
7. UnitedHealth Group will sell its health insurance and hospital operations in Brazil to a private investor for an undisclosed amount.
8. UnitedHealthcare has at least 75% of the Medicare Advantage market in three cities, according to the American Medical Association.
9. Some of the nation's largest health insurers — including UnitedHealthcare — employ or employed physicians who have a history of malpractice or have been reprimanded by state medical boards, according to a report from ProPublica and The Capitol Forum.
10. Humana used an artificial intelligence tool owned by UnitedHealth Group to wrongfully deny Medicare Advantage members' medical claims, according to a class-action complaint.
11. Mike Tuffin, former senior vice president of external affairs at UnitedHealth Group, is AHIP's new CEO.
12. Optum Rx launched a new weight management and wellness support program for health plan sponsors, including employers.