by Izzy Wagener, Minnesota Reformer
July 14, 2025
Eden Prairie-based UnitedHealth Group has engaged in a widespread campaign to quash criticism, according to a New York Times investigation published Saturday. The findings suggest that the company used legal threats to impede news sources and activists from publishing negative information about the company.
UnitedHealth, which provides health insurance and health care services, is Minnesota’s biggest company and employs nearly 400,000 people. There are currently more than 3,500 job openings on its website.
The Times investigation began with a tip that a docuseries critical of the health care industry was taken off of Amazon and Vimeo after a law firm working with UnitedHealth Group sent a letter claiming defamation. The filmmaker, Mary Strause, had helped manage pharmacies and was hoping to shed light on drug industry middlemen, including UnitedHealth subsidiary Optum Rx.
More examples unfolded from there. UnitedHealth filed a lawsuit for defamation against a Guardian article the day before the news outlet was set to release a second investigation; in a statement, the company told the Reformer that the Guardian “knowingly published false and misleading claims.” A Texas doctor, Dr. Elisabeth Potter, received a letter from the company’s law firm after posting a critical TikTok and Instagram video. Potter did not foresee the response.
“I guess I was naïve,” Potter told the Times.
UnitedHealth worked with law firm Clare Locke to communicate with Potter and other critics. According to legal letters and court filings, UnitedHealth pointed to the assassination of Brian Thompson, former CEO of UnitedHealthcare, when arguing that content should be taken down.
The company asserted that the criticism could cause further violence — though the investigation suggests that UnitedHealthcare’s efforts to quiet critics began before Thompson’s killing, only escalating in the aftermath.
The Times article is one of a slew of investigations into UnitedHealth over the past several years. This includes scrutiny over billing practices, alleged denials of patient care and a federal investigation into possible Medicare fraud. The company’s stock price has declined 40% over the past year.
“The truth matters, and there’s a big difference between ‘criticism’ and irresponsibly omitting facts and context,” a UnitedHealth spokesperson said in a statement to the Reformer. “When others get it wrong, we have an obligation to our customers, employees and other stakeholders to correct the record, including by making our case in court when necessary.”
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