UnitedHealth Accused of Dangerous Nursing Home Practices
Whistleblower allegations reveal troubling patterns of neglect and exploitation
We expect healthcare providers and facilities, including nursing homes, to put their patients’ health first, and certainly to put people ahead of profits. Unfortunately, we’ve seen over and over again that that’s not always the case in practice.
Last month, The Guardian reported that UnitedHealth Group, the world’s largest healthcare company, is under fire for practices within its nursing home partnership programs. These allegations are deeply troubling and highlight the need for accountability and justice in the nursing home space.
UnitedHealth’s nursing home partnership practices under fire
According to The Guardian, whistleblowers have alleged that UnitedHealth has paid bonuses to nursing homes to reduce the number of hospital transfers for residents.
One whistleblower claims that UnitedHealth “actively avoided medically necessary hospitalizations – hospitalizations in serious life-threatening situations, or situations to avoid imminent death or incredibly catastrophic results – to keep their costs down, and drove vulnerable patients toward signing Do Not Resuscitate (DNRs) and Do Not Hospitalize orders to avoid providing hospital services for life-threatening illnesses.”
UnitedHealth denies the allegations and claims that the whistleblower was not in the right position to assess their programs. The healthcare giant claims their nursing home partnerships prevent unnecessary hospitalizations that can cause serious harm to nursing home residents.
Another whistleblower claims that UnitedHealth has used improper sales and marketing tactics to solicit elderly patients for its nursing home programs, such as violating HIPAA and paying kickbacks to nursing homes for illegal referrals of their residents.
If these allegations are true, individual nursing homes are also responsible
While the whistleblower allegations against UnitedHealth paint a disturbing picture of that company, they wouldn’t be possible without the involvement of many participating nursing homes.
These allegations, if proven, would represent an utter betrayal of nursing homes’ duties to their patients. One of a nursing home’s most fundamental duties is to provide the medical care elderly residents need, including transporting them to the hospital or another appropriate medical facility when necessary. Deliberately avoiding hospitalization to save money—or to collect incentives from a health insurer—is a form of willful medical neglect.
UnitedHealth’s alleged sales practices may also constitute financial exploitation of some nursing home residents, which is a serious—and unfortunately common—form of elder abuse.
Again, if the allegations that UnitedHealth obtained illegal referrals of nursing home residents are true, that would be a serious betrayal on the part of the referring nursing homes.
Facilities that put profits ahead of patients need to be held accountable
While the whistleblower allegations against UnitedHealth are shocking, to advocates for victims of nursing home abuse and neglect, they are not especially surprising.
We’ve seen time and again the harm that results when nursing homes prioritize profits over resident care. Medical neglect can lead to severe and life-threatening complications: untreated broken bones, infections that become septic, and worse. That’s why we fight so hard to hold them accountable.
If your loved one was harmed or died due to nursing home abuse or neglect, the experienced legal team at Shuttlesworth Law Firm, P.C. is ready to help. We proudly represent victims and their families throughout Alabama. Give us a call or contact us online today.
"We had a case of wrongful death for my dad. Perry with Shuttlesworth Law Firm, along with his team handled our case. They were very efficient and caring. It made the process so much easier. We appreciate all the hard work that they put forth and the timing of the whole process." – Terri G., ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐