UnitedHealth Group in the headlines: 12 updates

From reaching a settlement with the Labor Department to releasing its third-quarter 2024 earnings report, here are 12 updates on UnitedHealth Group and its subsidiaries that Becker's has reported since Oct. 9: 

1. The Feb. 21 ransomware attack on UnitedHealth Group subsidiary Change Healthcare affected 100 million people. 

2. CMS lifted an enrollment suspension on a UnitedHealthcare subsidiary's Medicare Advantage plan following three years of not meeting the required 85% medical loss ratio.

3. UnitedHealth Group reached a settlement with the U.S. Department of Labor over allegations that it improperly denied claims for emergency room visits and urinary drug screenings for thousands of patients.

4. Two health systems are taking over urgent care clinics previously managed by Optum's MedExpress Urgent Care. 

5. The chairman of the Senate Finance Committee is seeking more answers from UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty regarding the February cyberattack against its Change Healthcare subsidiary. 

6. UnitedHealth now estimates it will take a $2.87 billion hit from the Change Healthcare cyberattack in 2024, after originally anticipating $1.6 billion in costs.

7. CEO Andrew Witty said UnitedHealth Group is seeing "unusually aggressive and high unit cost asks" from hospitals and added the company wants to find a "new way of working with hospitals." 

8. Changes from the Inflation Reduction Act are one factor driving up medical costs for UnitedHealth Group. 

9. UnitedHealth Group posted nearly $6.1 billion in net income during the third quarter of 2024, a 3.7% increase year over year.

10. UnitedHealth, Humana and Florida Blue saw the largest declines in average star ratings out of the 15 largest Medicare Advantage insurers by membership, according to an analysis from Chartis. 

11. Huntsville (Ala.) Hospital Health System is terminating its contract with UnitedHealthcare. 

12. UnitedHealth Group, CVS Health and Cigna are asking that Federal Trade Commission Chairwoman Lina Khan and two other commissioners recuse themselves from a lawsuit accusing the nation's largest pharmacy benefit managers of inflating insulin prices

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