Topline<\/p>\n
Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., who sits on the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, sold between $250,000 and $500,000 of UnitedHealth Group stock in December, according to a periodic transaction report filed Thursday, a sale that comes as Congress debates banning lawmakers from trading individual stocks. <\/p>\n
Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., talks with reporters outside the U.S. Capitol about members’ security after the murder of Charlie Kirk on Sept. 11, 2025. (Tom Williams\/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)<\/p>\n
CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty ImagesKey Facts<\/p>\n
On Dec. 23, the Hern Family Revocable Trust sold between $250,000 and $500,000 of UnitedHealth Group\u2019s common stock, according to a periodic transaction report<\/a> Hern filed with the House Clerk\u2019s Office that appears to have been reported first<\/a> by Quiver Quantitative.<\/p>\n Hern serves on the House Ways and Means Committee\u2019s health subcommittee<\/a>, which has jurisdiction over federal health care programs and payment policy.<\/p>\n UnitedHealth Group shares traded<\/a> around $325 on Dec. 23, the day the Hern Family Trust sold the stock.<\/p>\n The stock had been trading above that level over this past month, hitting $356.26 on Friday.<\/p>\n UnitedHealth closed at $282.83 on Tuesday, down 13% from its price at the time of the sale, as health insurers fell sharply<\/a> after the Trump administration proposed an average Medicare Advantage payment increase<\/a> on Monday of just 0.09% for 2027.<\/p>\n \u201cCongressman Hern has no involvement in the trades made by the Hern Family Trust as all sales and purchases are made by a longtime financial advisor,\u201d his spokesperson, Ashley Haines, told Forbes.<\/p>\n Contra<\/p>\n The use of a family trust managed by a financial adviser does not shield lawmakers from conflict-of-interest concerns, since members of Congress can still benefit financially from trades and are not required to use blind trusts. <\/p>\n News Peg<\/p>\n Hern\u2019s sale comes as lawmakers in both chambers push to bar members of Congress from trading individual stocks. On Jan. 15, Sens. Ashley Moody, R-Fla. and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., introduced the Restore Trust in Congress Act<\/a>, which would prohibit lawmakers, their spouses and dependent children from owning or trading stocks. That bill has been referred to the Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs. A House version<\/a> Reps. Chip Roy, R-Texas, and Seth Magaziner, D-R.I., introduced in September, which has 125 cosponsors, has been referred to the House Administration Committee. A separate Senate proposal\u2014the Halting Ownership and Non-Ethical Stock Transactions (HONEST) Act<\/a>, sponsored by Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., and Gary Peters, D-Mich.\u2014advanced out of committee in July, while 80 representatives have signed on to Rep. Anna Paulina Luna\u2019s, R-Fla., discharge petition in the House to force a floor vote on a similar ban<\/a>. Hern\u2019s spokesperson did not answer a question on his position on a congressional stock-trading ban.<\/p>\n Key Background<\/p>\n Hern reported having a 100% interest in the trust, which he holds jointly, according to the report. In 2024, he disclosed<\/a> owning $550,000 to $1.1 million worth of UnitedHealth through the trust and a foundation.<\/p>\n Big Number<\/p>\n 25: The number of lawmakers who have traded UnitedHealth shares<\/a> in the past year, according to Capitol Trades\u2019 analysis of congressional financial disclosures. Hern\u2019s sale was the largest individual trade. Reps. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, and Tim Moore, R-N.C., each reported trades in the $50,000 to $100,000 range, while Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., was the most frequent trader, with 24 UnitedHealth transactions.<\/p>\n Surprising Fact<\/p>\n Before Congress, Hern built his fortune as a McDonald\u2019s franchisee,<\/a> at one point owning 24 locations in Oklahoma, according to his biography on the House Republican Conference website.<\/p>\n What To Watch For<\/p>\n Lawmakers\u2019 next annual financial disclosures, which report holdings as of Dec. 31, 2025, are due May 15, 2026, though many members of Congress receive extensions that push the deadline to mid-August. In the meantime, lawmakers must report stock transactions within 45 days, with filings posted on each chamber\u2019s website.<\/p>\n Further ViewingFurther ReadingForbesTrump Claims Ilhan Omar Is Worth $44M. Here\u2019s Why That\u2019s Highly Unlikely.By Zach Everson<\/a>ForbesRep. Julia Letlow Discloses Over 200 Stock Trades After Deadline As Ban Debate Grows In CongressBy Zach Everson<\/a>ForbesLawmakers Traded Up To $1.3 Million In Tesla Stock After Musk Endorsed TrumpBy Zach Everson<\/a>ForbesHouse Ethics Office: \u2018Substantial Reason To Believe\u2019 Two Congressman Violated Ethics LawsBy Zach Everson<\/a>ForbesMarjorie Taylor Greene Urges DOJ Probe Into Tesla Protests\u2014A Possible House Rules Violation Since She Owns The Company\u2019s StockBy Zach Everson<\/a>ForbesTrump Media Rolls Out ETFs That Could Benefit From The President\u2019s PoliciesBy Zach Everson<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Topline Rep. Kevin Hern, R-Okla., who sits on the House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee, sold between $250,000…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":434015,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[59],"tags":[205526,205525,205519,205524,97,252,205521,253,205520,203245,205522,205523,18187],"class_list":["post-434014","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-health-care","tag-capitol-trades","tag-congressional-ethics","tag-congressional-stock-trading","tag-financial-disclosures","tag-health","tag-health-care","tag-health-insurance-stocks","tag-healthcare","tag-house-ways-and-means-committee","tag-kevin-hern","tag-lawmaker-stock-ban","tag-medicare-advantage-payments","tag-unitedhealth-group"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434014","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=434014"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/434014\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/434015"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=434014"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=434014"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=434014"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}