(Reuters) – U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley had demanded detailed information on UnitedHealth’s Medicare billing practices, according to a letter sent to CEO Andrew Witty on Monday.
Shares of the company fell 1.7% to $453.90 in afternoon trading after the Wall Street Journal first reported the news.
Over the last several months, The WSJ has run a series of stories detailing how UnitedHealth profited from using Medicare billing rules to its favor.
The letter by Senator Grassley cited findings from the Journal’s articles and said “the apparent fraud, waste, and abuse at issue is simply unacceptable and harms not only Medicare beneficiaries, but also the American taxpayer”.
We welcome the opportunity to share the facts with Senator Grassley, especially given the ongoing misinformation campaign by the WSJ, UnitedHealth said in a statement.
On Friday, WSJ reported the U.S. Justice Department is investigating UnitedHealth’s Medicare billing practices, while the health insurer said it was unaware of any new probe underway.
(Reporting by Sneha S K and Sriparna Roy in Bengaluru; Editing by Vijay Kishore)
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