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 today’s 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 yesterday’s close.
However, a majority of the stock’s fall has happened in the past five days. As of yesterday’s close, the stock was down more than 21% over the period—and today’s 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 2024—and the glee with which many Americans reacted to it—Witty 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 Witty’s 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 Witty’s departure.
However, Witty’s departure isn’t 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, it’s 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 company’s new Medicare Advantage customer base were higher than expected.
Announcing the suspension of its 2025 outlook, UnitedHealth Group’s 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 Group’s stock price closed down just over 1% yesterday—a 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 company’s Medicare Advantage business practices.”
The Journal’s 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 Journal’s 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 WSJ’s 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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