A group of UnitedHealth Group shareholders is withdrawing a proposal submitted for the 2025 proxy that requested the company’s management analyze how its business practices affect access to care and public health.
The group, Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, is pulling the proposal after facing a “series of challenges from the company at the Securities and Exchange Commission,” according to an April 4 news release shared with Becker’s.
The proposal, published Jan. 8, requested the company prepare a report on “public health-related costs and macroeconomic risks created by the company’s practices that limit or delay access to healthcare.” UnitedHealth Group’s prior authorization policies and other business practices could “increase short-term revenue while risking company brand name,” the Interfaith Center argued in a supporting statement for the proposal.
Interfaith said in the release that its proposal was set to go to a vote of shareholders at the company’s spring annual meeting, but UnitedHealth submitted a no-action request to the SEC, which would allow it to omit the proposal from its proxy. The group said the SEC “unexpectedly issued new guidance in a mid-season” that it alleged created a loophole that permitted UnitedHealth to file an additional no-action request.
Interfaith said that to avoid jeopardizing the chance to refile the proposal next year, it decided to withdraw the proposal this year.
“Our proposal requested much-needed circumspection by the board and management to consider the systemic risks created by denial and delaying care for policyholders,” Timnit Ghermay, director of the Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment, said in the release. “As long-term shareholders invested in the success of our company and reliant on a healthy economy, we fully intend to keep this issue in front of the company in our upcoming dialogue.”
In a Dec. 13 statement, UnitedHealth Group said it pays around 90% of medical claims when they are submitted.
The Interfaith Center is a coalition of more than 300 institutional investors. The group advocates for corporations to address the social and environmental effects of their businesses.
