By Amina Niasse and Ross Kerber
NEW YORK/BOSTON (Reuters) – Shareholders of UnitedHealth Group said on Wednesday they have asked the company to prepare a report on the costs and public health impacts associated with its “practices that limit or delay access to health care.”
If the proposal comes to a vote at the company's annual meeting, it would address a charged topic after a senior executive was shot in Manhattan last month.
A UnitedHealth spokesperson said the company will respond to shareholder proposals for its 2025 proxy statement once it files the document that serves as the agenda for the annual meeting, which has not yet been scheduled. In recent years, the company has issued a proxy in April, prior to the annual meeting in June.
Those who filed the resolution include religious groups led by the Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary of Quebec, and Trillium Asset Management.
The group proposed an analysis of how requiring prior authorization or approval by an insurer before a patient can receive medical care, and denying medical services leads patients to forego treatment.
“The pattern of delays and denials of necessary medical care by UnitedHealth and other insurance companies harms more than just the patients themselves,” Wendell Potter, president of the Center for Health & Democracy and a former director of Cigna, said in a statement sent in support. of the resolution of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.
UnitedHealth operates the nation's largest health insurer, UnitedHealthcare, as well as pharmacy benefits manager Optum and medical practices.
The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December has fueled criticism of U.S. health insurers, with swarms of patients describing delayed or denied care and accusing companies of using deceptive practices.
Luigi Mangione, 26, who was accused of killing Thompson, pleaded not guilty in a New York court in December after receiving thousands of dollars in public donations shortly after his arrest.
In a December statement, UnitedHealth said it approves and pays an average of 90% of medical claims submitted.
“Highly inaccurate and highly misleading information has been spread about the way our company handles insurance claims,” UnitedHealth said.
UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty described Thompson in a message to employees as “one of the good guys,” adding that the company would continue to serve the most vulnerable Americans.
(Reporting by Amina Niasse in New York and Ross Kerber in Boston; Editing by Caroline Humer and Bill Berkrot)
