UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) is intensifying its lobbying push in Washington as it faces criminal and civil investigations into its Medicare Advantage business and grapples with changes to federal payment rules that have pressured profits, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
Since newspaper revealed in May that the Justice Department was examining the company’s Medicare operations, the insurer has secured unusual high-level meetings with senior officials, including the attorney general’s chief of staff, Chad Mizelle. Chief Executive Stephen Hemsley also met with White House chief of staff Susie Wiles and dined with Medicare overseer Chris Klomp to discuss billing and benefits policies.
The company, which generated more than $100 billion from Medicare Advantage in 2023, has lost about 40% of its market value since April. In response, UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH) has doubled its lobbying budget to $7.7 million in the first half of 2025, its largest ever, and hired allies of President Trump such as fundraiser Brian Ballard and former Justice Department official Jesse Panuccio. It also switched legal representation to Trump’s personal attorney, Robert Giuffra, and his team at Sullivan & Cromwell.
Investors are particularly concerned about how the administration will regulate billing practices. Medicare chief Mehmet Oz has already pledged tougher oversight. UnitedHealth (UNH) has sought but not yet secured a direct meeting with Trump himself.
While the company insists it is cooperating with investigators and confident in its practices, former prosecutors called the early-stage Justice Department meeting unusual. The criminal probe remains active.
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