U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Elizabeth Warren have requested additional information from UnitedHealth Group (UNH) as part of an investigation into allegations that the health insurer, in a bid to cut expenses, secretly paid incentives to nursing homes.
In August, Wyden and Warren, members of the Senate Finance Committee, launched the inquiry after The Guardian reported that the company paid thousands of dollars in bonuses to nursing homes to reduce hospital transfers of sick residents, putting their health at risk.
In a letter to UnitedHealth’s (UNH) new CEO Stephen Hemsley on Wednesday, the Senators noted that, according to new reporting from the publication on Dec. 17, at least three nursing home residents had died as the Minnesota-based managed care giant denied or delayed them care.
Arguing that the company’s responses to their prior inquiries were inadequate and citing the new allegations, the duo gave Hemsley until Jan. 28 to provide further details on the matters they previously raised.
“As new reporting alleges shocking harms resulting from the policies in question, we expect you to meet the urgency of our inquiry,” the Senators wrote.