Fresh DOJ Inquiry Sends UnitedHealth Shares to New Five-Year Lows
UnitedHealth Group slid almost seven percent in pre-market trading Thursday after The Wall Street Journal revealed a U.S. Justice Department criminal investigation into possible Medicare fraud. The health-insurance giant, which hasn’t yet been contacted by prosecutors, is already grappling with multiple federal inquiries, a restive investor base and soaring medical-care costs.
The probe lands on the heels of CEO Andrew Witty’s abrupt exit and the company’s decision to yank its 2025 outlook, a one-two punch that erased 18 percent of market value earlier this week and dragged shares to a four-year low. “The stock’s in the doghouse, and fresh uncertainty only piles on,” said James Harlow of Novare Capital, echoing traders who fear a long stretch of turbulence.
Regulators have been circling UnitedHealth for months: a civil Medicare-billing inquiry, a Senate review of compliance records, and industrywide lawsuits alleging kickbacks to brokers. If Thursday’s losses stick, UnitedHealth’s market cap will hover near US$280 billion—almost half of what it was before an April earnings miss spooked Wall Street.
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