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The stock price of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is sinking yet again this morning after reports that the private healthcare company is now under criminal investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) over possible Medicare fraud. The company says it has not been notified by the DOJ about the alleged investigation, which was reported by the Wall Street Journal. As of the time of this writing, UNH shares are currently down over 6% to $289.20 per share in premarket trading. UNH shares have not seen that low since 2020. Before todays premarket fall, UNH shares had already been hammered since 2025 began. The stock closed at $308 yesterday, marking a more than 39% decline since the year began. Over the past six months, UNH stock had fallen 48% as of yesterdays close. However, a majority of the stock’s fall has happened in the past five days. As of yesterdays close, the stock was down more than 21% over the periodand todays further fall is only adding to its losses. Here are three reasons why UNH shares have fallen this week, including the latest news about the reported DOJ criminal investigation. CEO Andrew Witty abruptly steps down On Tuesday, UnitedHealth Group investors were hit with a double whammy of bad news, which sent the stock tumbling as much as 18% that day. The first bit of that bad news was the announcement that UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty was abruptly stepping down from his role as chief executive. Witty had been in the role since 2021 and was a leader whom investors adored. During his tenure, shares in UnitedHealth Group had soared more than 60%. However, after the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in December 2024and the glee with which many Americans reacted to itWitty wrote a much-maligned op-ed in the New York Times. Witty was criticized as being out of touch with the negative experiences of customers who have been denied coverage for critical and sometimes lifesaving health procedures. Announcing Wittys immediate departure on Monday, UnitedHealth Group did not give any detailed explanation of the unexpected move. The company merely said that Witty was stepping down for personal reasons. When a CEO abruptly leaves a company, it can make investors nervous. And nervous investors often sell, which is what happened on Tuesday after the announcement of Wittys departure. However, Wittys departure isnt the only thing that sent UNH shares falling 18% that day. UnitedHealth Group suspends 2025 outlook Also announced on Tuesday was that UnitedHealth Group had decided to suspend its 2025 outlook. When a company suspends its fiscal outlook, its a sign to investors that it does not have a lot of confidence in its financial projections for the next year. This uncertainty makes investors nervous and is another reason why the stock plummeted 18% on Tuesday. The reason UnitedHealth Group gave for suspending its 2025 outlook was due to the fact that medical costs for the companys new Medicare Advantage customer base were higher than expected. Announcing the suspension of its 2025 outlook, UnitedHealth Groups new CEO, Stephen Hemsley, said he was deeply disappointed in and apologize for the performance setbacks we have encountered from both external and internal challenges. The suspension of the 2025 outlook followed a cut that UnitedHealth Group made to its 2025 outlook last month. That cut came after the company missed its quarterly earnings expectations for the first time in more than 10 years. Rumored DOJ criminal investigation Investors were surely hoping yesterday that the worst news for UnitedHealth Group this week was behind it. After the 18% drop in UNH shares on Tuesday, UnitedHealth Groups stock price closed down just over 1% yesterdaya sign the bleeding had mostly stopped. But now UNH shares are down more than 6% this morning in premarket trading after the Wall Street Journal reported that UnitedHealth Group is now under a criminal investigation by the Department of Justice over possible Medicare fraud. The Journal was light on details in what the alleged criminal allegations covered, saying the exact nature of the potential criminal allegations against UnitedHealth is unclear, but it added that it was focused “on the companys Medicare Advantage business practices. The Journals reporting of a criminal investigation follows a February report from the paper in which it said that UnitedHealth Group was facing an investigation from the DOJ over its Medicare billing practices. Insurers get paid lump sums from the government via the Medicare Advantage system, and if patients have certain conditions, those lump-sum payments could be higher. In its February report, the Journal reported that Doctors said UnitedHealth . . . trained them to document revenue-generating diagnoses, including some they felt were obscure or irrelevant.” It added, The company also used software to suggest conditions and paid bonuses for considering the suggestions, among other tactics, according to the doctors. At the time, UnitedHealth Group called the Journals report misinformation. Reached for comment about the Journal‘s latest report, UnitedHealth Group referred Fast Company to a statement published on its website: We have not been notified by the Department of Justice of the supposed criminal investigation reported, without official attribution, in the Wall Street Journal today. The WSJs reporting is deeply irresponsible, as even it admits that the exact nature of the potential criminal allegations is unclear. We stand by the integrity of our Medicare Advantage program. Fast Company has also reached out to the DOJ for comment. We will update this post if we hear back.
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The U.S. Supreme Court is poised on Thursday to consider Donald Trump’s attempt to broadly enforce his executive order to limit birthright citizenship, a move that would affect thousands of babies born each year as the Republican president seeks a major shift in how the U.S. Constitution has long been understood. The justices are scheduled to hear arguments on the administration’s emergency request to scale back injunctions issued by federal judges in Maryland, Washington and Massachusetts blocking Trump’s directive nationwide. The judges found Trump’s order likely violates citizenship language in the U.S. Constitution’s 14th Amendment. The case is unusual in that the administration has used it to argue that federal judges lack the authority to issue nationwide, or “universal,” injunctions, and have asked the justices to rule that way and enforce Trump’s directive even without weighing its legal merits. Trump’s order was challenged by Democratic attorneys general from 22 states as well as individual pregnant immigrants and immigrant rights advocates. His administration is seeking to narrow the injunctions to apply only to the individual plaintiffs and the 22 states, if the justices find the states have the required legal standing to sue. That could allow the policy to take effect in the 28 states that did not sue, aside from any plaintiffs living in those states. Trump signed his order, a key part of his hardline approach toward immigration, on January 20, his first day back in office. It directed federal agencies to refuse to recognize the citizenship of U.S.-born children who do not have at least one parent who is an American citizen or lawful permanent resident. The court has a 6-3 conservative majority, including three justices appointed by Trump during his first term as president. The plaintiffs argued that Trump’s directive violated the 14th Amendment, which long has been understood to confer citizenship on almost anyone born on U.S. soil. The 14th Amendment’s citizenship clause states that all “persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside.” The administration contends that the citizenship clause does not extend to immigrants in the country illegally or immigrants whose presence is lawful but temporary, such as university students or those on work visas. The Justice Department has argued that these people are not subject to the “political jurisdiction” of the United States because their primary allegiance is to foreign countries. Automatic birthright citizenship encourages illegal immigration and “birth tourism” by expectant mothers traveling the United States to give birth and secure citizenship for their children, the Justice Department said. Universal injunctions have become increasingly contentious and have been opposed in recent years by both Republican and Democratic administrations. Judges often have impeded Trump’s aggressive use of executive orders and other initiatives this year, sometimes employing universal injunctions. The plaintiffs and other critics have said Trump’s directive is the quintessential example of a case in which judges should retain the power to issue universal relief, even if that power is curtailed by the Supreme Court. The 14th Amendment overrode an infamous 1857 Supreme Court decision called Dred Scott v. Sandford that had denied citizenship to Black people and helped fuel the Civil War. An 1898 U.S. Supreme Court ruling in a case called United States v. Wong Kim Ark long has been interpreted as guaranteeing that children born in the United States to non-citizen parents are entitled to American citizenship. Trump’s Justice Department has argued that the court’s ruling in that case was narrower, applying to children whose parents had a “permanent domicile and residence in the United States.” Andrew Chung, John Kruzel, Reuters
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While estimates of the percentage of neurodivergent people globally typically range from 1520%, new survey results from neurodiversity advocacy and support nonprofit Understood suggest that the true percentage of neurodivergent adults may be higher. For one, more people are being diagnosed with ADHD and autism and other conditions that fall under the umbrella of neurodivergence. But more people may also be self-identifying as neurodivergentespecially in younger generations. Deloittes 2023 Gen Z and Millennial Survey showed that 53% of Gen Z self-identify as neurodivergent. The people who identify or have symptoms of [neurodivergence], will far exceed the most conservative estimate of those who have been actually diagnosed, says Nathan Friedman, copresident and chief marketing officer of Understood. He suggests that barriers such as high psychiatry costs and the misdiagnosis of neurodivergent women might prevent individuals from pursuing (or acquiring) a formal diagnosis. In April, Understood conducted a weighted survey of over 2000 U.S. adults, 659 of whom identify as neurodivergent. Thirty-one percent of respondents had at least wondered if they were neurodivergent although only 11% had received an official diagnosis. Stigma around requesting accommodations In a recent ResumeGenius poll of 1000 hiring managers, 86% claim that disclosing neurodivergence in an application would have either a positive or neutral effect on their hiring decision. But Understoods research suggests that neurodivergent workers have real concerns. In the survey, 64% of employed U.S. adults agree that people speak about their neurodivergence at work more openly now, but 70% agree theres a stigma around asking for workplace accommodations. Thats a 10% increase from their results last year. Among those workers who have requested accommodations, only 56% received ones that actually improved their work experience. One in four got accommodations that werent helpful, one in five were outright denied, and nearly one in five later regretted asking. Asking for accommodations doesn’t necessarily mean you’re unable to perform or you’re unable to achieve the results of what’s expected, says Friedman. The accommodations that workers typically ask for are simple to implement, he says. Accommodations could be anything from a flexible work environment to changing desks . . . [These] are pretty simple things that can help somebody improve how they work, the output of their work, and their feeling about how they work. Despite this, 15% of respondents said they had lost a job, were demoted, or lost a job opportunity after asking for accommodations. Part of this increase in perceived stigma may be connected with the Trump administration’s attacks on DEI in the workplace. In fact, the survey results show that 64% of U.S. adults believe DEI program rollbacks will make it more difficult for people to access workplace accommodations. Difference right now is not seen as a good thingregardless of where you’re at, says Friedman. What can be done Reducing stigma and improving the efficacy of workplace accommodations starts with proper education about neurodivergence in the workplace. We hear so many stories about individuals who don’t have the right accommodations and are let go because they don’t have what’s needed to do their job, says Friedman. So providing the education, providing the pathway to get an accommodation, and delivering the accommodations are all required. This is especially crucial as Gen Z now outnumbers boomers in the workplace. Over 50% of Gen Z believes they are neurodivergent, says Friedman. If you’re a company of 10,000 people, that’s upwards of 5,000 people that you could get a better work product from. . . . So [offering accommodations] is a win for everyone.
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