UnitedHealth Group Battling MA-Related Setbacks; Optum Continues Growth

Headwinds primarily associated with Medicare Advantage (MA) and care activity in its insurance business led UnitedHealth Group (UHG) (NYSE: UNH) to lower its anticipated earnings per share for 2025.  In the first quarter of 2025, UHG’s revenues increased by $9.8 billion year-over-year, reaching $109.6 billion. This growth was primarily driven by a more comprehensive approach […]

UnitedHealthcare To End Certain Home Health Prior Authorization Requirements As Part Of Larger Push

UnitedHealthcare is eliminating prior authorization requirements for certain home health services provided under Medicare Advantage plans as part of a larger push to cut prior authorization volume by 10% this year. Effective April 1, 2025, the insurance giant—part of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UHG)—will no longer require prior authorization or concurrent review processes for home health […]

Former NAHC Leader Dombi Joins Arnall Golden Gregory LLP; UnitedHealthcare Appoints New CEO

Bill Dombi, former president and CEO of the National Association for Home Care & Hospice, has joined law firm Arnall Golden Gregory LLP. Dombi will serve as senior counsel in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office. He has over four decades of experience spearheading major litigation and policy matters for the home health and hospice industry. […]

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Killed

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed Wednesday morning in New York City, where UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) was hosting its annual investor conference. New York City Mayor Eric Adams called it a “targeted murder.” The city’s police commissioner, Jessica Tisch, also described it a “brazen targeted attack.” UnitedHealth Group is one of the […]

Essentia Health Will Continue Working With UnitedHealthcare, But Not Humana

Essentia Health has reached an agreement with UnitedHealthcare (UHC) to remain an in-network provider for UHC’s Medicare Advantage insurance plan in 2025. Earlier this year, Essentia announced plans to discontinue its status as an in-network provider for UHC and Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM) Medicare Advantage insurance plans due to reported issues with denials of payment […]

Facing Headwinds, UnitedHealth Group Remains Focused On Value-Based Care

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Medicare rate cuts, state-driven Medicaid member redeterminations and the Change Healthcare cyberattack. These are just three disruptions that UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE: UNH) leadership has had to factor in when setting future growth objectives. “It’s a distinctive part of the culture of UnitedHealth Group that we continue to […]

What Comes Next After Enhabit’s UnitedHealthcare Contract Termination

Enhabit Inc. (NYSE: EHAB) CEO Barb Jacobsmeyer said Wednesday that the company would terminate its contract with the country’s largest Medicare Advantage (MA) payer, UnitedHealth Group’s (NYSE UNH) UnitedHealthcare. UnitedHealthcare accounts for 9.4 million MA beneficiaries, or 29% of all enrollees, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. Humana Inc. (NYSE: HUM), which is the second-largest […]

Medicare Advantage Plans Pulling Back On In-Home Care Supplemental Benefits

Insurance companies selling Medicare Advantage (MA) plans have been facing increased scrutiny from members of Congress and regulators, with critics of the private version of Medicare claiming carriers are profiting far too much. In light of those sentiments and expected constraints, some believed MA plans could begin trimming their supplemental-benefits packages, which could lead to […]

Cigna To Shed Certain Prior Authorization Requirements, May Benefit Home-Based Care Providers

In an attempt to lower administrative burden, Cigna Healthcare — the health insurance arm of The Cigna Group (NYSE: CI) — announced that it is removing nearly 25% of medical services from its prior authorization requirements. Broadly, prior authorization is the process that occurs when a health care provider requests a patient to receive a […]