UnitedHealthcare Group opened its doors to a group of journalists and influencers at its headquarters last month and MedCity News Editor in Chief Arundhati Parmar was among them. On the latest episode of the Debunked podcast, she described how she felt encouraged by the company’s willingness to let executives, such as UnitedHealthcare CEO Tim Noel and Optum CEO Dr. Patrick Conway take reporter questions in a bid to improve trust in the largest health insurer in the U.S. market, but disappointed by the lack of candor.
“Kudos to everyone at UnitedHealth Group who participated either actively or passively. We received great Midwestern warmth and hospitality,” Arundhati said. “I was appreciative of the gesture of transparency in inviting us in, of all the tools and technology being developed to reduce friction and frustration, but it’s not enough. As she wrote in an extensive article on the visit:
“A litany of lawsuits filed against UnitedHealthcare and Optum from every conceivable stakeholder — investors, dead patients’ families, employee whistleblowers, health systems, states — was dismissed as ‘disagreements’ or ‘one-offs.’ That term was repeated by the CEO, the COO as well as a call-center agent in a bid to dismiss the pure vitriol that the American public feels toward the company. Is all of the vitriol fair? Not at all, but there seemed to be no acknowledgment that some of it comes from real pain and frustration.”
Perhaps, Arundhati mused with co-host Samir Batra, Managing Partner of Health Innovation Pitch, it would be better if healthcare companies like UHG that dominate the market were forced to reduce their size. They referenced the bill U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) and Josh Hawley (R-MO) co-sponsored in February — the Break Up Big Medicine Act. The bill also focuses on PBMs, like OptumRx, part of UHG.
The discussion also highlighted big pharma company Lilly’s move to crack down on hospitals using the 340B drug pricing discount program when they fail to provide claims data. The action has dismayed hospitals who claim Lilly lacks the legal authority to create its own compliance requirements for a federal program.
