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Shareholders Call on United Healthcare Group to Issue a Report on the Public Health Costs of Delayed or Denied Access to Treatment January 14th, 2025
Image by Tung Nguyen from Pixabay
NEW YORK, NY, WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 8, 2024 – Shareholders of UnitedHealth Group ($UNH) today announced that they had filed a proposal for the 2025 proxy requesting that the Board of Directors prepare a report on the public health-related costs and macroeconomic risks created by the company’s practices that limit or delay access to healthcare.
Specifically, shareholders recommend that the report evaluate how company practices impact access to healthcare and patient outcomes, including analyses of how often prior authorization requirements or denials of coverage lead to delay or abandonment of medical treatment, and serious adverse events for patients.
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. 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.
Said Timnit Ghermay of the Congregation des Soeurs des Saints Noms de Jesus et de Marie who led the filing of the proposal, “UNH has been in the media and legislative spotlight for some time given its market dominance, aggressive marketing of Medicare Advantage and questionable use of AI algorithms to deny care to patients. As the tragic murder of UNH’s Brian Thompson made evident, public outrage over the exorbitant costs and restricted access to healthcare has reached a dangerous level in our country. Our proposal suggests some introspection by UNH that will help the company and all its stakeholders thrive.”
As the 4th largest company in the U.S. owning not only insurers but also providers, the power and influence of UNH over the U.S. economy cannot be overstated. It is estimated that over 5 percent of U.S. gross domestic product flows through the company’s systems daily touching millions of Americans. This power, and the profits UNH generates, have attracted the scrutiny of legislators who are calling for the company to be split up and reformed. According to STAT, “Lawmakers and regulators have sharply criticized the company for excessive profiteering within its Medicare Advantage business. It is being sued for allegedly using an error-prone algorithm to systematically deny care to older Americans…It is facing a federal antitrust investigation and a Justice Department lawsuit seeking to block its proposed acquisition of the home health provider Amedisys.”
Reflection on December’s Ecological Conversion Field Trip with OMI Novices January 14th, 2025
Contributed by Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, Director of Oblate Ecological Initiative
We visited Treehouse Wildlife Center mid-December to experience a community dedicated to the rehabilitation of injured wildlife. TreeHouse exemplifies the spirit of Laudato Si which calls us to shift from the exploitation of other species to treating them as beings “with intrinsic value, apart from their usefulness to us”. Anyone can bring an injured animal to this center, and it will be treated as “brother or sister” in the spirit of St. Francis of Assisi.
Frs. Daniel LeBlanc, OMI & Valentine Talang, OMI Attend UN FFD Preparatory Meeting December 9th, 2024
Church Leaders, Financial Experts Meet to Discuss Ways to Make Investments More Ethical & Effective November 12th, 2024
(Pictured L to R) Archbishop Miguel Maury Buendia, Apostolic Nuncio to the Court of St James: Alan Smith, First Church Estates Commissioner; Cardinal Peter Turkson, President of the Pontifical Academy of the Social Sciences; Cardinal Reinhold Marx, President of the Vatican Council for the Economy, Cardinal Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Westminster; (Back row) Jean-Baptiste de Franssu, President of the Institute of the Works of Religion, commonly known as the Vatican Bank; Sr Helen Alford, OP, Chancellor of the Pontifical Academy of Social Sciences; Bishop David Urquhart, Advisor to the Archbishop of Canterbury; Rev. Séamus P. Finn OMI, Chief Faith Consistent Investment, OIP Trust
READ FULL Religious Media Center article: https://bit.ly/3CwXrRP
Reflection on October’s Field Trip with OMI Novices November 8th, 2024
Contributed by Sr. Maxine Pohlman, SSND, Director, La Vista Ecological Learning Center
Novices Alfred, Michael, Eliakim and Edwin (L to R) are pictured here in Great Rivers Park by a monument
honoring Godfrey, IL’s first mayor.
Carved into stone is a Native American quote, “The Circle of Life teaches we are all the children of the Earth. May we leave the Earth a better place than what was left for us.”
This quote reflects the mayor’s life as well as the life and service of the man we were to meet next.
This park is adjacent to the Great Rivers Land Trust, the destination for our trip, as we set out to explore ecological conversion from exploitation of land to “responsible stewardship” (Laudato Si, 116) Alley Ringhausen, who has been Executive Director of GRLT for 25 years, is a living example of a responsible steward. Under his leadership, five thousand acres along the Mississippi River bluff corridor has been preserved in perpetuity, protecting a thriving ecological habitat of oak and hickory forests and unique hill prairies. Home to migratory birds like the American bald eagle and the white pelican, those acres are an invaluable asset for wildlife. Were it not for the GRLT the hill prairies and forests might only be a memory, and several threatened and endangered species, along with many others, would have lost their habitat.
Ringhausen regaled us with stories of his cunning acquisition of land which often took many years to accomplish. Reflecting on his presentation, the novices wisely noted that patience, foresight and deep commitment are hallmarks of responsible stewardship.
Finally, we returned to the Novitiate, which is a beneficiary of Ringhausen’s efforts, as more than 150 acres of there are preserved. Once again, we are grateful to OMI for longtime efforts to care for our common home.
