UnitedHealthcare accuses the Guardian of trying to – Business News
UnitedHealthcare slapped the Guardian with a defamation lawsuit over a story by the publication associated to its billing for nursing home residents.
At challenge is the Guardian’s May 21 story, which alleged that the health care giant made secret funds to nursing houses to cut back hospital transfers in an effort to save money.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Delaware Superior Court late Wednesday, claims that the Guardian had knowingly printed “demonstrably false” info and tried to capitalize on media curiosity in the killing of its then-CEO Brian Thompson final 12 months in New York.
UnitedHealthcare is suing the Guardian for a May 21 piece alleging that the health care giant made secret funds to nursing houses to cut back hospital transfers in an effort to save money AFP through Getty Images
The health care company alleged that the Guardian used inner emails — from which it printed excerpts — that have been quoted out of context. UnitedHealthcare additionally disputed some of the Guardian’s characterizations of medical occasions detailed in its exposé
“The Guardian knowingly published false and misleading claims about our Institutional Special Needs Program, forcing us to take action to protect the clinician-patient relationship that is crucial for delivering high-quality care,” a rep for UnitedHealthcare claimed. “The Guardian refused to engage with the truth and chose instead to print its predetermined narrative.”
A rep for the Guardian shot back at UnitedHealthcare’s lawsuit, telling The Post that it stands by its May 21 reporting and that it intends to defend itself in court docket.
“The Guardian stands by its deeply-sourced, independent reporting, which is based on thousands of corporate and patient records, publicly filed lawsuits, declarations submitted to federal and state agencies, and interviews with more than 20 current and former UnitedHealth employees — as well as statements and information provided by UnitedHealth itself over several weeks,” the rep claimed.
“It’s outrageous that in response to factual reporting on the practice of secretly paying nursing homes to reduce hospitalizations for vulnerable patients, UnitedHealth is resorting to wildly misleading claims and intimidation tactics via the courts,” he added.
In the story, the Guardian claimed inner emails revealed that UnitedHealth supervisors gave their groups “budgets” displaying how many hospital admissions they’d “left” to use up on nursing home sufferers.
An excerpt from the Guardian’s May 21 article.
The outlet additionally reported that leaked emails confirmed that the company additionally monitored nursing houses that had smaller numbers of sufferers with “Do not resuscitate” and “Do not intubate” orders of their recordsdata.
“The article used a heavily cropped screenshot of an internal UnitedHealth email to knowlingly and falsely accuse UnitedHealth of coercing nursing home residents into signing ‘do not resuscitate’ papers as a ‘cost cutting tactic … even when patients had clearly expressed a desire that all available treatments be used to keep them alive.’ This is unquestionably defamatory,” the lawsuit alleged.
“The Guardian knew these accusations were false, but published them anyway, brazenly trying to capitalize on the tragic and shocking assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s then-CEO, Brian Thompson,” the go well with added.
UnitedHealthcare claimed that the Guardian, in publishing its article, was trying to “capitalize” on the
homicide of its then-CEO Brian Thompson. UnitedHealth Group
Accused killer Luigi Mangione was arrested for Thompson’s homicide and has pleaded not guilty to state and federal costs. Steven Hirsch for NY Post
Thompson was gunned down on a Manhattan sidewalk on Dec. 4 final 12 months.
Accused killer Luigi Mangione, 27, was arrested and has pleaded not guilty to state and federal costs.
The embattled UnitedHealthcare has been in the scorching seat in latest weeks.
The Department of Justice revealed in May that it’s investigating UnitedHealthcare for Medicare fraud.
Shares of the insurance coverage company have cratered practically 26% in the final month as a outcome.
