Grassley accuses UnitedHealth of turning Medicare Advantage risk scoring into a profit engine

A Senate majority staff report based on more than 50,000 pages alleges UnitedHealth Group uses aggressive diagnosis capture, in-home health risk assessments, and coding guidance to inflate Medicare Advantage risk scores and in turn receive higher CMS payments. The findings describe a specialized workforce and data capabilities that adapt to CMS crackdowns, with examples like diagnoses for opioid dependence, alcohol use disorders, and dementia, and warn that the company sells its criteria to other MAOs, potentially impacting taxpayers and the integrity of the MA program. The report follows Grassley’s long history of MA oversight and calls for continued scrutiny of risk-adjustment practices.