Talk:UnitedHealth Group/Archives/2023/July

Redundant text
User:Spintendo has closed five requests above and asked me to include "one template per section per request" (which I thought I had done correctly). Since the proposed content changes were not actually reviewed, I am re-submitting this request for the "Legal issues" section. The first paragraph of "Legal issues" says:
 * Issue: Redundant / duplicate text about stock options and McGuire's resignation

In 2006, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) began investigating the conduct of UnitedHealth Group's management and directors, for backdating of stock options. Investigations were also begun by the Internal Revenue Service and prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, who subpoenaed documents from the company. The investigations came to light after a series of probing stories in the Wall Street Journal in May 2006, discussing apparent backdating of hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of stock options by UHC management. The backdating apparently occurred with the knowledge and approval of the directors, according to the Journal. Major shareholders have filed lawsuits accusing former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean and UHC's other directors of failing in their fiduciary duty. On October 15, 2006, CEO William W. McGuire was forced to resign, and relinquish hundreds of millions of dollars in stock options. On December 6, 2007, the SEC announced a settlement under which McGuire will repay $468 million, as a partial settlement of the backdating prosecution.

Further down, there's another section ("Investigations and lawsuits") with very similar text:

In 2006, the SEC began investigating the conduct of UnitedHealth Group's management and directors, including Dr. McGuire, as did the Internal Revenue Service and prosecutors in the U.S. attorney's office for the Southern District of New York, who have subpoenaed documents from the company. The investigations came to light after a series of probing stories in The Wall Street Journal in March 2006, discussing the apparent backdating of hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of stock options—in a process called options backdating—by UnitedHealth Group management. The backdating apparently occurred with the knowledge and approval of the directors, according to the Journal. Major shareholders have filed lawsuits accusing former New Jersey governor Thomas Kean and UnitedHealth Group's other directors of failing in their fiduciary duty.

Then, the next section ("Resignation of McGuire") says:

On October 15, 2006, it was announced that William W. McGuire would step down immediately as chairman and director of UnitedHealth Group, and step down as CEO on December 1, 2006, due to his involvement in the employee stock options scandal. Simultaneously, it was announced that he would be replaced as CEO by Stephen Hemsley, who has served as president and COO and is a member of the board of directors. McGuire's exit compensation from UnitedHealth, expected to be around $1.1 billion, would be the largest golden parachute in the history of corporate America.

Unless there's a reason the text should appear twice in the same section, I am hoping User:CNMall41 and other editors can address this issue. Thanks for reviewing! Barbara at UHG (talk) 18:25, 30 June 2023 (UTC)
 * Request: I propose removing the first paragraph of the "Legal issues" section because there's additional text in the article about stock options and McGuire's resignation.


 * ✅ The redundant text has been omitted. Please feel free to submit the next edit request at your earliest convenience. Regards, Spintendo  03:17, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

Misplaced text about treatment
Thanks for reviewing the above request, Spintendo. On behalf of UHG, I'd like to flag an issue with the "Policy Research ownership" section.
 * Issue: Out of place and unrelated text
 * The end of the section says: Drug and alcohol treatment are generally covered under UnitedHealth Group and UnitedHealthcare plans, but the exact benefits and coverage offered depend on your policy. This text seems misplaced and irrelevant, having nothing to do with surrounding content.

I am hoping editors can address this issue. Thanks for reviewing! Barbara at UHG (talk) 18:23, 6 July 2023 (UTC)
 * Request: I propose removing this sentence.
 * ✅ Spintendo  22:37, 6 July 2023 (UTC)

Key people in infobox
Thanks again for your help, Spintendo. On behalf of UHG, I'd like to request an update to the key people listed in the infobox. Per the company's board of directors list, Larry Renfro should be removed from the infobox and Stephen J. Hemsley's role should be changed to simply "Chair". Per the company's executive management team list, Andrew Witty is correctly identified as CEO, but I suggest adding Dirk McMahon as President and COO and John Rex as CFO. If news sources are preferred, this Reuters article confirms Dirk McMahon's appointment in 2021 and this Reuters article confirms John Rex's appointment in 2016. Thanks for addressing this issue and updating the infobox for me! Barbara at UHG (talk) 19:59, 7 July 2023 (UTC)
 * ✅ Spintendo  22:31, 7 July 2023 (UTC)

Change Healthcare update
Thanks again, Spintendo, for reviewing. Next, I'd like to request an update to the "Legal issues" section on behalf of UHG. I suggest updating the Change Healthcare paragraph, which mentions the Justice Department's lawsuit without offering any sort of conclusion. According to Reuters, "A U.S. judge denied the department's bid in September, paving the way for the October completion of the all-cash deal. The department then appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia." The article also confirms that the Justice Department dismissed its own appeal in March 2023. Could an editor please update the article appropriately? Otherwise, the article suggests the lawsuit is unresolved. Thank you in advance. -Barbara at UHG (talk) 16:40, 10 July 2023 (UTC)

The court documents do not provide any details as to why the parties abandoned the challenge. The writing should not imply, as might be interpreted by laymen, that this means the DOJ's case was unwarranted or failed: instead, it should simply reflect the fact that we don't have details.  Chamaemelum  (  talk  ) 19:58, 10 July 2023 (UTC)

Reply 10-JUL-2023

 * It is not known what changes are requested to be made. Although your request does contain text (a discussion about a court case), it does not state decisively what is to be added (or if anything is to be subtracted). Please state your desired changes in the form of "Change x to y using z".

 Example edit request:  Please change: to read as: using as a reference:
 * The Sun's diameter is 25 miles.
 * The Sun's diameter is 864,337 miles.

Kindly open a new edit request at your earliest convenience when ready to proceed. Regards, Spintendo  23:06, 10 July 2023 (UTC)

Change Healthcare
Hello again! I had assumed editors might prefer to update the article with their own interpretation of the source, but per Spintendo's request for specification above, I'm happy to re-submit a request to update the Change Healthcare paragraph, which mentions the Justice Department's lawsuit without offering any sort of conclusion. To clarify, I am not seeking to remove any information. I am just trying to update the existing outdated text. Reuters mentions the February lawsuit then confirms three updates: If I'm expected to provide specific excerpts as evidence, the article says: To me, a basic and neutral article addition to the existing text would be: Again, I'm just trying to provide a plain and simple update to readers. I hope this clarification is helpful to Spintendo and other editors. Thanks in advance for assistance. Barbara at UHG (talk) 20:35, 12 July 2023 (UTC)
 * 1) a U.S. judge's rejection of the department's bid in September,
 * 2) completion of the acquisition in October,
 * 3) and the Justice Department's dismissal of its own appeal in March 2023
 * "The U.S. Justice Department has dismissed its own appeal challenging UnitedHealth Group's (UNH.N) nearly $8 billion acquisition last year of Change Healthcare, a court filing showed..."
 * "The Justice Department filed a lawsuit last February to stop the acquisition over antitrust concerns. A U.S. judge denied the department's bid in September, paving the way for the October completion of the all-cash deal. The department then appealed the ruling to the U.S. Court of Appeals in the District of Columbia."
 * "A U.S. judge rejected the department's bid in September. Following completion of the acquisition in October 2022, the department dismissed its own appeal in March 2023."


 * Thank you for providing the suggested sentence it's much appreciated. However, a source that you provided states the following: "A court filing from Monday said the parties had agreed the appeal be voluntarily dismissed, without providing details. The Justice Department did not immediately provide comment on Tuesday on why it had dropped the appeal." Unfortunately, your proposed text does not incorporate these two additional facts:
 * That the parties had agreed that the appeal would be voluntarily dismissed;
 * That the Justice Department did not provide comment on why it had dropped the appeal.
 * Please provide a revised proposal statement which can be incorporated into the article which covers all of these areas. Regards, Spintendo  22:09, 12 July 2023 (UTC)

Revised text
I welcome your proposed additions if you feel the details are necessary:
 * "A U.S. judge rejected the department's bid in September. Following completion of the acquisition in October 2022, the department dismissed its own appeal in March 2023. The parties had agreed that the appeal would be voluntarily dismissed and the Justice Department did not provide reasons for dropping the appeal."

Thanks for revisiting this text. Barbara at UHG (talk) 18:47, 13 July 2023 (UTC)

Philanthropy and foundations
Big thanks to Spintendo for assisting with the above request. I am pleased to see the article updated appropriately. I'd now like to focus on the Foundations section, which says:
 * UnitedHealth Group has two foundations, the United Health Foundation and UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation which were formed in 1999. Since established by UnitedHealth Group in 1999 as a not for profit private foundation, the United Health Foundation has committed more than $170 million to improve health and health care.

There is a "how?" tag seeking specificity, and the text is sourced to a dead UHG URL. I suggest replacing with the following, which is a neutral summary of UHG's philanthropic efforts based on reliable secondary coverage, with subsections dedicated to the two foundations:
 * Issue
 * Request

More could be said about both UHF and UHCCF, which have funded many charitable activities. There remain many issues with this article, but I appreciate continued help from Spintendo, User:voorts, and User:CNMall41. Thanks, Barbara at UHG (talk) 20:49, 14 July 2023 (UTC)

Reply 15-JUL-2023
Virtually all of the references provided originate from company-produced sources, either press releases or other such statements from company officials. Only three of the provided sources came from spontaneous reporting by third party sources. A sampling of the sources: Only three sources did not explicitly state that the information originated from the company, but as those sources were not contiguous in the text, the inclusion of the information from them would not have been as grammatical with the missing segments (i.e., the reading "flow" of the paragraph would have been "off".) Those sources were the Shelby County Reporter, News 5 Cleveland, and 6WBRC. If you'd like to incorporate those claims in a new edit request, please do so at your earliest convenience. Regards, Spintendo  19:37, 15 July 2023 (UTC)
 * 1) The Minemyer source is based on a press release: "The need for affordable housing and the connection between housing and health continues to be top of mind throughout the communities we serve,” said Tim Spilker, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Community & State,  in a statement.
 * 2) The Tozzi source is based on a press release: "The money will go to nonprofit partners building more than 1,000 new homes for low-income renters over the next two years, with initial construction in the District of Columbia, Texas, and Oklahoma, the company said.
 * 3) The Livingstone source is based on a press release: "Health care giant, UnitedHealth Group announced a $10 million commitment to support George Floyd's children, and Minnesota businesses impacted by civil unrest.
 * 4) The Click Orlando source is based on what UHF said was a drive to "keep getting the word out.": "United Healthcare Children's Foundation says the word is spreading but their goal is to keep getting the word out, that this resource is available and of course want to continue to raise money.
 * 5) The Nguyen source is based on a press release: United Health Foundation, the philanthropic arm of health care giant UnitedHealth Group, announced last week  it’ll provide a total of $1 million in relief efforts to support Ukraine.
 * 6) The Snobeck source is based on a press release: "The commitment was announced last month by Patricia Lewis, the chief sustainability officer at UnitedHealth Group, at a conference in Washington, D.C.
 * 7) The Philanthropy News Digest source is based on a press release: "The United Health Foundation has announced  a 10-year, $100 million commitment to advance health equity
 * 8) The Van Buren source is based on a press release: "Our hearts are with the people of Florida whose communities have been devastated by Hurricane Ian,” said Andrew Witty, chief executive officer for UnitedHealth Group  in the release.
 * 9) The Sago, Boyce, and Cherokee Phoenix sources are all based on press releases (as evidenced in their article titles).
 * 10) The Kare11 source is based on a press release, and even repeats the identical statement given to the Van Buren source: "Our hearts are with the people of Florida whose communities have been devastated by Hurricane Ian,” said Andrew Witty, chief executive officer for UnitedHealth Group  in the release.
 * 11) The Columbian source: "We believe the grants make a difference,” said United Healthcare Children’s Foundation CEO Matt Peterson.
 * 12) SW Newsmedia: "We’re all familiar with the wise adage that laughter is the best medicine,” said United Healthcare Children’s Foundation President Matt Peterson.
 * 13) The Lavender Magazine source is based on a press release by Rainbow Health: "Being part of this announcement today made me feel immense pride and gratitude at the same time,”  says Jeremy Hanson
 * 14) The Al Dia source is based on a press release: "United Health Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the national UnitedHealth Group, recently announced a partnership worth $2 million to address disparities
 * 15) The Spectrum local news source was based on a press release/statement made by the founder of NC-STeP: "The founder of the NC-STeP program said it was specifically created to reduce the number of psychiatric hospitalizations in 2012.

Revised text
I am sorry to see the previously proposed text rejected. I was just trying to address the "how?" tag in the current "Foundations" section by providing overviews of the foundations and other philanthropic work. If editors prefer not to add any additional detail at this time, then can I at least re-submit a request to address the issues with current text?

Right now the section directs readers to a dead company URL. The following replacement text at least offers functioning sources for verifying the foundations and establishment date:
 * Foundations affiliated with UnitedHealth Group include the United Health Foundation (UHF) and the UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation (UHCCF), both of which were established in 1999.

I'll let others decide if the "how?" text should be kept or removed.

There remain quite a few issues with this article, as evidenced by User:CNMall41's comment above and the various warning banners on the page), so I will try to continue suggesting possible improvements.

Thanks for revisiting. Barbara at UHG (talk) 18:47, 26 July 2023 (UTC)
 * ✅ Regards, Spintendo  00:50, 27 July 2023 (UTC)

UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation
Thanks again for your help above. Based on your assessment of the previously proposed philanthropy text, I'd like to re-submit a request to add more detail about the UnitedHealthcare Children's Foundation to the Foundations section. Suggested text:

Again, this re-submission is based on the sources approved by Spintendo above. Thanks for updating the article appropriately on my behalf. Barbara at UHG (talk) 17:27, 28 July 2023 (UTC)

Reply 28-JUL-2023
Looking closer at these three sources, my initial claim that they were based on spontaneous, non-company-generative reporting may have been premature for two of them. I apologize for that oversight. Regards, Spintendo  21:45, 28 July 2023 (UTC)
 * 1) The WBRC story about Katelyn Alabaster was informed by Grant Cochran of UHC, who delivered a statement to the story's author, Shilo Groover. While it's not entirely clear who approached whom for this story, many of the details provided by Cochran suggest that one goal of telling the story is so that others may receive help, as indicated by Cochran in Groover's article: "We want families that need assistance to be able to get their child the best care possible." IMO that makes this a press release.
 * 2) The WEWS-TV story from author Jade Jarvis, which discusses the Colucci family of Ohio, describes Madison Colucci as an "ambassador for UHCCF", a vague title which at least suggests Madison is acting as de facto spokesperson for the company.
 * 3) The Shelby County Reporter story by author Amalia Kortright appears to have a spontaneous origin, in that the Weaver family of Alabaster joined together with other families to locate information regarding help with care costs. Also, 11 yo Kaitlyn Weaver does not appear to have been appointed "ambassador" by the company as Madison Colucci was in Ohio. However, Kortright spoke with UHCCF vice president of Sales Nelson Raines, who described the various items for sale which "feed" monies "into the grants." As stated by Raines in the Kortright story, "We would love the support for our foundation, and we appreciate you going out and purchasing them." IMO that would make the information about the gifts, books, toys, etc mentioned by Rains as company-informed PR. In the question of who approached whom for this story, I believe that Kortright approached Raines. If it were the other way around, Raines never would have mentioned "loving people to go out and purchase" their items. That would make this Shelby County Reporter story the most spontaneous of all the submitted sources. In that case I think that the information about the grants program can be added to the article, since this was information which originated from the Weaver family's own research (which was, ostensibly, confirmed by Kortright for her story). If you could write a simple two sentence proposal about the grants program using this is the source that can be implemented into the article.

UHCCF re-submission
Here is updated text based on your request:

Thanks for updating the article appropriately. Barbara at UHG (talk) 18:00, 31 July 2023 (UTC)
 * ✅ Regards, Spintendo  19:19, 31 July 2023 (UTC)