Quick summary
• UnitedHealth Group reported over $100 billion in revenue for the fourth quarter of 2024, with its insurance division achieving record revenue of $298.2 billion for the year.
• Patients and doctors protested outside the New York Stock Exchange, highlighting the suffering caused by UnitedHealth’s practices, including prior authorization denials for critical treatments.
• Jenn Coffey, a patient battling complex regional pain syndrome, shared her experience of being denied necessary infusions, calling for dignity and a life worth living.
• Reports reveal systemic issues at UnitedHealth, such as Optum RX marking up cancer treatments by over 1,000 percent, limiting autism care access, and denying nursing care under Medicare Advantage.
• UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty received $23.5 million in compensation in 2023, underscoring the financial gains amid patient struggles.
• Protestors demanded the company release claim denial rates, oppose Medicaid-reducing federal tax cuts, and end care-denying prior authorization requirements.
• The protests are part of the ongoing “Care Over Cost” mobilization, targeting UnitedHealth as a symbol of the privatized healthcare system’s failings.
America’s largest healthcare corporation, UnitedHealth Group, reported unprecedented revenue figures for 2024, with over $100 billion generated in the fourth quarter alone. Its insurance division, UnitedHealthcare, brought in $298.2 billion over the full year, as announced last Thursday. Despite these staggering figures, investor expectations were not met, leading to a 6% drop in UnitedHealth’s stock value on the New York Stock Exchange.
Meanwhile, just outside the stock exchange, patients and doctors gathered in freezing temperatures to protest the systemic suffering tied to UnitedHealth’s exorbitant profits. One protestor, Jenn Coffey, who has been battling complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS), described her anguish in dealing with the company’s policies.
“UnitedHealthcare would rather leave me in torture than grant me the peace my infusions bring,” says Coffey. “I’m asking for a life worth dignity. I’m left begging for a life worth living.” Despite her pleas, UnitedHealth has repeatedly denied her the prior authorization necessary to secure adequate treatment coverage.
The demonstration featured other speakers sharing similarly harrowing stories. Dr. Toutou Moussa Diallo, a New York-based researcher and healthcare activist, explained how insurance denials resulted in inadequate care for a broken ankle, leaving the injury even more debilitating. Nephrologist Cheryl Kunis shared a tragic account of a patient’s death after UnitedHealthcare refused to cover a PET scan for a malignant neck tumor. “UnitedHealthcare would not approve the diagnostic test that could have saved my patient’s life,” Kunis said.
These cases are not isolated incidents but rather emblematic of widespread suffering under the U.S.’s for-profit healthcare system. The protests align with a larger movement led by People’s Action’s Care Over Cost campaign, which has long rallied against practices by private insurers. UnitedHealth Group, due to its massive profits and documented practices, has become a focal point for criticism.
Examples of its controversial operations include:
– **Price Markups:** UnitedHealth Group’s pharmacy benefit manager, Optum RX, marked up some cancer treatments by over 1,000 percent, a Federal Trade Commission investigation has found.
– **Denial of Autism Treatments:** ProPublica reported that UnitedHealthcare systematically limited access to critical treatments for children with autism to cut costs.
– **Medicare Denials:** UnitedHealthcare and other insurers were found to have denied nursing care to patients covered under Medicare Advantage plans, according to a U.S. Senate investigation.
While patients endure these hardships, UnitedHealth Group has funneled significant funds into executive compensation. In 2023, CEO Andrew Witty pocketed an astonishing $23.5 million in total compensation.
Protestors outside the stock exchange issued several demands, including the release of UnitedHealthcare’s claim denial rates, opposition to federal tax cuts that would reduce Medicaid services, and an end to the company’s prior authorization requirements that routinely deny patients essential care. These demands highlight growing anger toward an industry that many see as prioritizing profits over people.
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