UPDATED: April 4 at 10:15 a.m.
A collection of UnitedHealth Group shareholders has withdrawn a proposal that pushed the company to include a report on utilization management in its annual proxy report.
In an announcement from the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, the shareholders, which were led by the Quebec-based Congregation des Soeurs des Saints Noms de Jesus et de Marie, said that the company submitted a "no action" request to the Securities and Exchange Commission to prevent it from going to a vote at UnitedHealth's spring shareholders meeting.
They said that as they were discussing what's next for the proposal with the company, the SEC "unexpectedly" issued new guidance that allowed UnitedHealth to submit a second "no action" request.
The shareholders said that the withdrawal is "to avoid jeopardizing the chance to re-file the proposal next year." Per the proposal, UnitedHealth would prepare a report as part of its proxy filing that details "the public health-related costs and macroeconomic risks associated with the company’s practices that limit or delay access to healthcare."
The company has faced scrutiny from lawmakers and the public over its utilization management practices.
"Our proposal requested much-needed circumspection by the board and management to consider the systemic risks created by denial and delaying care for policyholders," said lead filer Timnit Ghermay in the press release. "As long-term shareholders invested in the success of our company and reliant on a healthy economy, we fully intend to keep this issue in front of the company in our upcoming dialogues.”
A group of UnitedHealth Group shareholders is pressuring the company to examine practices they say deny or limit patient access to care.
The shareholders, who are members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR), filed a proposal that UnitedHealth included a report on the "public health-related costs and macroeconomic risks" that may stem from claims denials and other utilization management practices.
In particular, the shareholders are asking UHG to track how often prior authorization leads to delays or abandonment of medical services, which can cause adverse effects for patients.
The shareholders also note critical media coverage of UnitedHealth that raises questions about its practices around claims denials and the company's massive profitability.
"The proponents are institutional investors who have been engaging UNH and other companies in the healthcare sector for many years around questions of access and affordability," the ICCR said in a press release.
"As investors with diversified holdings, they argue that while UNH’s policies may boost short-term revenue, its vertically integrated business model and escalating costs disempower patients, create long-term reputational and legal risks for the company and pose broader risks to the economy that, by extension, threaten investors’ total portfolios," according to the announcement.
The ICCR includes more than 300 investors who collectively represent more than $4 trillion in capital. Not all of its members are investors in UnitedHealth Group specifically, a spokesperson said.
2024 was a complicated one for UnitedHealth, which fell victim to the largest healthcare cyberattack in history in February when a notorious hacking gang breached its Change Healthcare division. Data on about 100 million people were accessed in the hack.
The health insurance industry faced notable headwinds, particularly in Medicare Advantage, over the course of the year, and UHG was no exception. Then, in December, Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was gunned down in New York City on the day of the company's annual investor event.
UnitedHealth will host its fourth-quarter and year-end earnings call next week, the first time company executives have hosted an official event since the shooting.