UnitedHealthcare 'Pushing' Boundaries of Medicare Fraud, Republican Says

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Mar 24, 2025 at 2:32 PM EDT | Updated Mar 24, 2025 at 7:04 PM EDT


A Republican lawmaker has gone after UnitedHealthcare over its Medicare plan, calling the insurance company the "worst offender" in the industry. North Carolina Republican Representative Greg Murphy on Fox Business on Monday discussed Republicans' efforts to reduce Medicare and Medicaid fraud, saying that UnitedHealthcare was "pushing" the boundaries of Medicare fraud. Newsweek spoke with experts about Murphy's comments.

Why It Matters

More than 32 million Americans were covered by Medicare Advantage plans last year, accounting for roughly half of the Medicare-eligible population. UnitedHealthcare has received backlash in the months following the murder of CEO Brian Thompson in New York City. Since then, there's been an outpouring of anger towards the insurance industry based on claim denials.

House Republicans have also proposed a budget that would cut spending by $880 billion in the Energy and Commerce Committee, which oversees Medicare and Medicaid.

What To Know

Murphy said there's bipartisan support to reform Medicare based on the actions of insurance companies like UnitedHealthcare. "I'll pick out the worst offender is United which is literally charging $1,000 more per enrollee than anyone else and they upcode them," Murphy said in an interview with Maria Bartiromo. "You take a stone-cold healthy person and they suddenly have 15 things wrong with them, then on the backside, they don't pay the people they should." Murphy called this type of behavior by insurers a "scam."

Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/united-healthcare-pushing-boundaries-medicare-fraud-republican-2049688

[marybourg]

1. And whose great idea was Medicare "Advantage "?

[bucolic_frolic]

2. 'Splain to me why United Healthcare shouldn't follow the Rick Scott model?

Goose sauce is goose sauce.

[Buddyzbuddy]

3. Typical Republican, call it out and do absolutely nothing.

[SSJVegeta]

4. If united abandons republican coffers in favor of more democratic ones

dueto this seemingly full throttle abandonment of the company by the gop, SAY NO and join in on the bashing

[Bengus81]

5. I really wish he gave a CRAP about people getting screwed but that's not what

this is about IMO. This is just more priming the pump for Musk to gut Medicare so much as to make it die just like their now doing with SS.

A Republican that cares about people getting screwed over by a HUGE Corporation like UHC?

Oh please...........

[SharonAnn]

6. 25 years ago I asked my consulting firm not to asignado me to any United Health proyecto.

I believed they were deeply unethical at that time and I didn’t want to participate in any of their “improvement projects”.
And I’m sure they have gotten much worse.

[ChazInAz]

7. Not surprising, but coming from a GOP?

I hold United directly responsible for my wife's death and our bankruptcy.

[Midnight Writer]

8. Wanna cut fraud, waste, and abuse out of Medicare? Then forbid the involvement of private insurers in Medicare.

Government workers in the Medicare program are not likely to commit wide-scale fraud. If caught they will lose their jobs and be charged as a criminal, risking prison time.

Private insurers know they can steal all they want and the worst-case scenario will be a fine that the company will pay.

[usonian]

9. So he found the "deep state?"

[Mysterian]

10. When do they get their Presidential Medal of Honor?

And cabinet appointment?

[Mz Pip]

11. I've certainly wondered about overcharging

I had a medical emergency in Portugal. The whole event that included ambulance, x-rays and doctor cost $150 there. I sent the x-rays to my doctor here and radiology wanted a new set of x-rays. I got the statement and it was $4300, just for new x-rays.

These were not even necessary. The x-rays from Portugal were fine.

I have a Medicare Advantage plan, not United, though. My co-pay wad $10, so someone paid over $4k for unnecessary x-rays.