Shareholders of UnitedHealth Group said on Wednesday (8) that they requested the company to prepare a report on the costs and impact on public health related to its “practices that limit or delay access to healthcare”.
If the proposal makes it to a vote at the company’s annual meeting, it would raise a hotly debated topic after a senior executive was 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 its annual meeting, which has not yet been scheduled. In recent years, the company has issued its proxy in April, before the June annual meeting.
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Among those presenting the resolution are 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 prior authorization, that is, the approval required by an insurer before a patient can receive medical care, and denials of medical services lead patients to forgo treatment.
“The pattern of delays and denials of necessary medical care by UnitedHealth and other insurers harms more than just the patient themselves,” said Wendell Potter, president of the Center for Health & Democracy and former Cigna executive, in a statement submitted in support of the resolution by the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.
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The death of UnitedHealthcare Chief Executive Brian Thompson in December galvanized criticism of U.S. health insurers, with patient groups describing delays or denials of care and accusing the 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, on average, 90% of medical claims submitted.
