RESOLVED: Shareholders request that the Board of Directors of UnitedHealth Group (“UHG”) prepare a report, at a reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, on the public health-related costs and macroeconomic risks created by the company’s practices that limit or delay access to healthcare.At the board’s discretion, shareholders recommend the report evaluate how company practices impact

Given UHG’s size and broad reach – “more than 5 percent of U.S. gross domestic product flows through the company’s systems every day2” – shareholders fear UHG’s practices may impair the value of their portfolios.

  • idiomaddict@lemmy.world
    3·
    5 days ago

    This is journalistic misconduct (on the part of the Washington post), imo.

    Given UHG’s size and broad reach – “more than 5 percent of U.S. gross domestic product flows through the company’s systems every day”

    That’s impossible. It would only be possible if there were only 20 business days a year and UHG was the only company. This article sources it (thankfully) to the Washington post, who source it from here, where it’s much more reasonable:

    It is this analyst’s opinion that the concentration of ownership of health care payment infrastructure in the hands of a single company poses a significant threat to the financial viability of the US health care system and requires a policy response. It does not make national security sense for more than 5 percent of US GDP to flow through a single company’s pipes. No provider of administrative services to health plans or care systems should be permitted to control a third of total US health care payments. Assuring the stability and safety of this payment infrastructure is a legitimate and substantial policy challenge.

    UGH is a $1,5T company and the US GDP is around $30T. 5% is reasonable to say, but saying 5% every day is wrong.