If you want to understand what's ailing the American healthcare system, look no further than UnitedHealth Group.
The hack — allegedly spearheaded by Russian cybercriminals — unsurprisingly pushed some physician practices to the brink of collapse. But UnitedHealth also owns many physician practices that rely on Change Healthcare for payment processing. It's worth asking whether the company prioritized payments to its own vendors during the chaos.Soon after the hack, UnitedHealth swooped in to acquire practices in Oregon and Massachusetts that seemingly couldn't survive the mayhem.
But issues go even deeper than antitrust concerns. Just weeks before the Justice Department probe became public, UnitedHealth's chairman and three top executives dumped more than $100 million worth of stock. This suggests a clear likelihood of insider trading.