UnitedHealth Board Accused of Ignoring Risks Amid Catastrophic Failures

A shareholder lawsuit alleges that UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s board of directors ignored numerous governance and oversight risks for years, leading to catastrophic failures and billions in losses for investors.

The amended complaint, filed in a Minnesota federal court on August 7, reveals new information from former insiders about the company's handling of cybersecurity after acquiring Change Healthcare. The acquisition led to the largest U.S. healthcare data breach on record, exposing private data of 190 million Americans.

The lawsuit claims that UnitedHealth shut down an internal audit program that showed it submitted claims for $200 million in Medicare payments that weren't supported by patients' diagnoses. The complaint also alleges that the company knew a federal policy change would cost it billions of dollars years before it disclosed the size of the financial hit.