Jan. 21 (UPI) — UnitedHealth Group officials on Wednesday said the health insurer will return the profits earned on policies obtained via the Affordable Care Act marketplace aka Obamacare.
UnitedHealth Group is the largest health insurer in the United States, but its 1 million ACA policies rank well behind the larger Obamacare insurers, such as Centene and its 6 million such policies, according to Politico.
“We are working with the [Trump] administration on the details, and our intent is to provide rebates to members in some manner,” UnitedHealth Group spokesman Robert Josephson told Politico.
The health insurer’s announcement came a day before several health insurer executives are scheduled to testify before a pair of House committee hearings on Thursday.
UnitedHealth Group Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Stephen Hemsley has prepared his testimony, which the insurer has posted online.
It largely focuses on the costs of hospitalization, diagnostic services and prescription medications as primary factors in rising healthcare costs in the United States.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee on Health is conducting a hearing in the morning, followed by a House Ways and Means Committee hearing in the afternoon.
The respective committees are examining the high cost of health care in the United States and how to make it more affordable and accessible.
Former UnitedHealth Group Chief Executive Officer Brian Thompson was shot and killed on a New York City sidewalk on the morning on Dec. 4, 2024.
Accused murderer Luigi Mangione is charged with first-degree murder and other related charges in the U.S. District Court for Southern New York and could be sentenced to death if found guilty.
Mangione also faces state charges in New York and Pennsylvania, where he was arrested after Thompson’s murder.