A new shareholder lawsuit claims UnitedHealth Group made misleading statements about its financial outlook following the murder of a prominent company executive.
Dec. 4, then-UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed while in New York City to attend the company's annual investor day. The day prior to Thompson's death, the healthcare giant released its outlook for 2025, anticipating the investor event to follow.
The insurer's practices around claims denials have been cited as a likely motive for the shooting. Shortly before the murder, a key Senate report highlighted that the three largest Medicare Advantage insurers, including UnitedHealthcare, routinely use technology to deny care for seniors.
The lawsuit, filed in New York district court Wednesday, alleges that this guidance was "materially false and misleading" given that pressure from the Senate.
It also argues that UnitedHealth further misled investors by reaffirming its outlook in January, without acknowledging that it may need to pivot aggressive strategies that drove earnings growth given the significant public outcry and scrutiny that followed Thompson's death.
"As such, the Company was deliberately reckless in doubling down on its previously issued guidance," the lawsuit said.
“The company denies any allegations of wrongdoing and intends to defend the matter vigorously," UnitedHealth Group said in a statement to Fierce Healthcare.
The company released its first-quarter earnings in mid-April, where it posted a rare miss. It attributed that performance in part to rising costs in Medicare Advantage, and analysts speculated that one factor in this equation is the effort to pull back on utilization management practices that are broadly unpopular with consumers.
That drove losses for shareholders who had banked on the earnings projections, according to the lawsuit.
The lawsuit was filed by individual shareholder Robert Faller, and proposes a class action for other stockholders who feel they were negatively impacted by the company's messaging. It seeks a jury trial for damages.