Wyden and Warren Press UnitedHealth Group For Answers Following New Reports of Seniors Dying in Nursing Homes After Being Denied Care

Text of the Letter (PDF)

Washington, D.C. - U.S. Senators Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), member of the Senate Finance Committee, and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Ranking Member of the Senate Finance Committee, renewed their investigation into UnitedHealth Group's (UHG) business practices at nursing homes that work with the company's subsidiary, Optum, following new reports that at least three nursing home residents may have died as a result of the company's failure to provide timely care.

"Because you have failed to respond adequately to our inquiry - and in light of additional recent reporting - we are renewing our inquiry with heightened alarm… As new reporting alleges shocking harms resulting from the policies in question, we expect you to meet the urgency of our inquiry," wrote the senators.

Late last year, news reports revealed allegations that UHG may have denied requests to transfer nursing home residents to the hospital despite signs of life-threatening medical problems. In one case, an Optum employee allegedly denied a request to transfer a resident to the hospital despite the resident vomiting and having low oxygen levels after falling and hitting her head. The resident was later found dead in her room likely due to a traumatic head injury and internal bleeding. In a wrongful death suit filed on her behalf, attorneys allege the Optum employee did not act as a medical professional but as "an insurance adjuster."

The senators also pressed UHG to explain discrepancies between whistleblower accounts and documentation that UHG keeps about these incidents. Whistleblowers shared evidence that UHG may be pushing Optum staff to avoid necessary hospitalizations, including through bonus programs and policies that require staff to discuss hospitalizations with Optum supervisors. Whistleblowers have also raised concerns that Optum's policies regarding advance directive planning could pressure patients into avoiding lifesaving interventions. The senators said UHG "did not meaningfully respond" to questions about these accounts.

The senators asked UHG to respond thoroughly with regards to the following topics by January 28, 2026:

1. Hospitalization policies
2. Advance directives
3. Marketing practices
4. Federal oversight

"If you fail to respond in full, we will pursue answers to this critical inquiry using all tools at the Committee's disposal," the senators concluded.

In August, Warren and Wyden opened their inquiry into UHG's nursing home business practices, following reporting and whistleblower disclosures alleging that UHG is padding its revenues at the expense of residents living in nursing homes by reducing hospitalizations for enrollees in order to avoid paying for the cost of medically-necessary, and even lifesaving, care.

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