Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
Lawsuit Alleges United Healthcare Overcharged Medicare For Advantage Plan Customers
Modern Healthcare: DOJ Joins Medicare Advantage Fraud Lawsuit Against UnitedHealth
The U.S. Justice Department has joined a whistleblower lawsuit claiming that UnitedHealth Group and affiliated health plans have been gaming the Medicare program and fraudulently collecting millions of dollars by claiming patients were sicker than they really were. The lawsuit, initially brought in 2011 and unsealed Thursday after a five year-long investigation by the Justice Department, alleges that Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth has inflated its plan members' risk scores since at least 2006 in order to boost payments under Medicare Advantage's risk adjustment program. (Livingston, 2/16)
The New York Times: Scheme Tied To UnitedHealth Overbilled Medicare For Years, Suit Says
UnitedHealth Group, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, is accused in a scheme that allowed its subsidiaries and other insurers to improperly overcharge Medicare by “hundreds of millions — and likely billions — of dollars,” according to a lawsuit made public on Thursday at the Justice Department’s request. (Walsh, 2/16)
