DeLauro, Esty Denounce UnitedHealth Group’s Decision to Drop Medicare Advantage Providers

WASHINGTON, DC--Today, enrollees in UnitedHealth Group’s Medicare Advantage plan will begin to receive letters indicating that their doctors and other health providers are being dropped from the UnitedHealth Group Medicare Advantage network. These letters will complete the Medicare notification requirements and give enrollees little time to evaluate their health care options. Congresswomen Rosa DeLauro (CT-3) and Elizabeth Esty (CT-5) released the following statement on the decision:

“We are deeply disappointed by UnitedHealth Group’s refusal to reverse the provider terminations, which puts their profits ahead of the health interests of their enrollees. Throughout this process UnitedHealth has refused to be transparent about which doctors and providers will be dropped and they refused to explain the criteria they used to determine who to drop. These decisions seem arbitrary and put the health of their enrollees at risk.

“They have wrongly blamed this profit-driven business decision on the Affordable Care Act. The Affordable Care Act is bending the cost curve. But, befitting their stature as a leading health care insurer, UnitedHealth Group still managed to post a 14 percent increase in revenue from their Medicare and Retirement business last quarter. Our seniors’ health should not be sacrificed for corporate profit.”

On October 24 Connecticut’s congressional delegation sent a letter to United Healthcare Group CEO of Medicare and Retirement Jack Larsen on his company’s decision to drop thousands of providers from its Medicare Advantage Plan. Yesterday members of the delegation held a call with Larsen to further express their concern about the decision. The Medicare Advantage enrollment period ends December 7.