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UnitedHealthcare Reviews, Complaints & Contacts

UnitedHealthcare is the health-insurance arm of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH), the largest US health insurer, headquartered at 1 Health Drive, Eden Prairie, Minnesota (per SEC filings; its Better Business Bureau profile still lists an older Hopkins, MN address). Its BBB profile carries an A- rating (downgraded specifically for failing to respond to complaints) and is not BBB accredited, with 2,628 complaints in the last 3 years and an extremely low 1.11-out-of-5 average across 1,027 customer reviews. Federal data (KFF/CMS) shows health insurers overall denied an average of 19% of in-network ACA marketplace claims in 2024. UnitedHealthcare and its subsidiaries have faced a wave of scrutiny in 2023-2026: a federal class action alleges the company used an AI tool called "nH Predict" to systematically cut off Medicare Advantage rehabilitation coverage; its claims-processing subsidiary UMR agreed in 2025 to provide at least $20.25 million in relief to settle a Department of Labor lawsuit over improperly denied ER and drug-screening claims; and its PacifiCare subsidiary was found to have committed hundreds of thousands of claims violations in California, with a 2019 California Supreme Court decision paving the way toward restoring an approximately $91 million penalty (related litigation continued for years afterward). The February 2024 Change Healthcare ransomware attack -- whose estimated scope was later revised upward by federal regulators to approximately 192.7 million affected individuals -- and the December 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, further intensified public scrutiny of the company's claims practices.

REVIEWS & COMPLAINTS43on USAComplaints · none in last 3 yrs · latest 2014
WEBSITEuhc.com
HEADQUARTERSEden Prairie, MN
PROFILE CHECKED2026-11-06
Submit a Complaint Read reviews & complaints ↓ Official website ↗
VERIFIED

Contacts

Customer service & general contact

Account & login

VERIFIED

Locations

  • Headquarters1 Health Drive Eden Prairie MN 55344
  • Branch office9700 Health Care Lane Hopkins MN 55343
EDITORIAL

Company Information

BBB

Legal name
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated
Founded
1974
Business type
Health insurance (largest US health insurer by membership, part of UnitedHealth Group)
Website
uhc.comSource: UnitedHealthcare official website, checked 2026-08-25
Headquarters
Eden Prairie, MNSource: SEC EDGAR, checked 2026-08-25
Subsidiary of
Change HealthcareSource: Optum/UnitedHealth subsidiary, checked 2026-08-25

UnitedHealthcare is the health insurance business of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated and the largest U.S. health insurer by membership. Its Better Business Bureau profile carries an A- rating (BBB specifically notes the rating reflects “failure to respond to 2 complaint(s) filed against business”) and is not BBB accredited, with 2,628 complaints in the last 3 years (roughly 780 closed in the last 12 months) and a 1.11-out-of-5 average across 1,027 customer reviews. BBB itself notes this profile aggregates UnitedHealth Group's headquarters and its corporate-owned locations, not UnitedHealthcare-branded complaints alone. Federal claims-transparency data compiled by KFF from CMS's Transparency in Coverage filings shows insurers overall denied about 19% of in-network ACA marketplace claims in 2024 (ranging from 8% to 25% among large carriers).

The company faces several distinct legal matters. A federal putative class action (Lokken v. UnitedHealth Group) alleges the company used an AI tool called “nH Predict” to systematically cut off Medicare Advantage patients' rehabilitation coverage, with the complaint citing an approximately 90% reversal rate on appealed denials -- a February 13, 2025 ruling allowed breach-of-contract and implied-covenant claims to proceed while dismissing five other claims with prejudice, and the case remained in discovery through at least September 2025. Separately, UnitedHealth's claims-administration subsidiary UMR agreed in 2025 to provide at least $20.25 million in relief to settle a Department of Labor lawsuit alleging it improperly denied thousands of emergency-room and drug-screening claims using an incorrect legal standard. Historically, UnitedHealth's PacifiCare subsidiary was found to have committed 908,547 separate claims-handling violations in California; a 2019 California Supreme Court decision paved the way toward restoring an approximately $91 million penalty, though this was not a final, collected figure at that point and related litigation continued for years afterward. More recently, the DOJ required UnitedHealth to divest at least 164 home-health/hospice locations as a condition of its Amedisys acquisition (finalized December 2025). In Minnesota, UnitedHealth entered a May 2024 Consent Order with the state's Department of Commerce over alleged mental-health/substance-use-disorder parity violations -- including reimbursement-rate disparities, inaccurate provider directories, and inadequate documentation of utilization-review denials -- paying $300,000 of a $450,000 penalty.

Two further events, while not allegations against UnitedHealthcare's own conduct, have shaped public perception: the February 2024 ransomware attack on Change Healthcare (an Optum/UnitedHealth subsidiary) -- credentials were reportedly used to access systems around February 12, 2024, with data exfiltrated February 17-20 and ransomware deployed February 21; federal regulators (HHS/OCR) later revised the estimated scope upward to approximately 192.7 million affected individuals, and claims processing was disrupted nationwide for weeks -- and the December 4, 2024 killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson outside a New York hotel, which intensified national attention on the company's prior-authorization and claims-denial practices without itself being evidence of any specific claims-handling wrongdoing.

EXTERNAL SOURCE

Independent Sources

Shown for context — not merged with USAComplaints' own numbers.

BBB2,628 complaints/3yr
1,027 reviews · 2,628 complaints · BBB business grade A- · average customer rating 1.11 / 5
EDITORIAL

Complaint Themes

Claim denials characterized as "not medically necessary"AI/algorithm-assisted coverage denialsRepeat regulatory findings of systemic claims-handling violations

Themes summarize what people write about most often. One complaint can touch several themes, and some complaints (a positive report, or one later retracted by its author) fit none, so themes are not a count of complaints.

CONSUMER ALLEGATION

Reviews & Complaints on USAComplaints

USAComplaints currently maintains 43 historical complaints about UnitedHealthcare, published between 2000 and 2014. No approved complaints have been published on this site during the last three years. For a current reputation snapshot, see the independent sources on this page.

Show 15 more on this page
EDITORIAL

What Complainants Allege

The dominant theme across BBB complaints and complaints submitted to USAComplaints over many years is claim denial: care deemed "not medically necessary" after the fact, pre-authorization approved but the actual claim later denied, and long delays or repeated document requests before a claim is finally paid or definitively denied. A related theme involves confusing or seemingly contradictory explanations from different representatives about the same denial, and difficulty getting a clear, final answer during an appeal. A smaller number of complaints describe billing/enrollment confusion (being dropped from coverage without clear notice, being billed for a service the complainant believed was covered) and, in a few older complaints, deceptive marketing of supplemental/short-term plans under UnitedHealthcare-adjacent branding.

Had an experience with UnitedHealthcare? Tell other people what happened.

Submit a Complaint
EDITORIAL

If Your Claim Was Denied

  • Request the specific denial reason and the exact policy/plan language it's based on, in writing.
  • You have the right to an internal appeal, and after that, in most cases, an external review by an independent third party -- ask UnitedHealthcare in writing for the exact appeal deadline and process for your specific plan.
  • If you're on a Medicare Advantage plan and believe an AI-assisted or automated tool played a role in denying post-acute or rehabilitation care, explicitly ask for confirmation of what determined the decision and request your treating physician's input be given weight in the appeal.
  • Keep a written log of every call, denial letter, and appeal submission with dates.
  • You can file a complaint with your state's Department of Insurance, the Better Business Bureau, or, for Medicare-related disputes, the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS).
PUBLIC RECORD

Court & Public Records

Estate of Gene B. Lokken, et al. v. UnitedHealth Group Inc., UnitedHealthcare Inc., and NaviHealth Inc. ("nH Predict" AI algorithm)

Filed

U.S. District Court, District of MinnesotaDocket 0:23-cv-03514Source ↗

Filed — no final outcome recordedClass action alleging UnitedHealth used an AI tool called nH Predict to estimate post-acute-care (rehab/skilled-nursing) length of stay for Medicare Advantage members and used it to deny or cut off coverage, overriding treating physicians' recommendations; the complaint alleges an approximately 90% rate of denials being reversed on internal appeal or judicial review, with only about 0.2% of members appealing in the first place. A February 13, 2025 court order allowed breach-of-contract and good-faith-and-fair-dealing claims to proceed while dismissing others, and a subsequent order compelled broad discovery into the company's AI-driven claims processes. UnitedHealth has stated the tool is not used to make coverage determinations and says it will defend itself; no final resolution was confirmed in this research.

U.S. Department of Labor v. UMR, Inc. (UnitedHealth Group third-party claims administrator)

Settled

U.S. District Court, Western District of WisconsinDocket 3:23-cv-00513Source ↗

SettledThe DOL alleged UMR, the largest third-party claims administrator in the US and a UnitedHealth Group subsidiary, violated ERISA by automatically denying emergency-room and urinary drug-screening claims based solely on diagnosis codes rather than the ERISA-required "prudent layperson" medical-necessity standard, affecting more than 2,136 self-funded employer health plans from 2015-2023. A consent judgment was sought on February 7, 2025 requiring UMR to provide at least $20.25 million in relief: reprocessing denied claims and paying affected members $68.85 per improperly denied urinary drug-screening claim, plus up to an additional $103.27 with proper documentation (potentially up to $172.12 total per claim).

California Insurance Commissioner v. PacifiCare (UnitedHealth Group subsidiary)

Judgment

California courts (administrative penalty and subsequent appeals), decided by the California Supreme CourtSource ↗

Judgment enteredCalifornia's Insurance Commissioner found PacifiCare (acquired by UnitedHealth in 2005) committed 908,547 separate violations of the state's Unfair Insurance Practices Act -- alleged systemic wrongful denials of claims and treatment following the acquisition -- and initially imposed a $173,603,750 penalty. On January 28, 2019, the California Supreme Court declined to review an appellate decision, which the Department of Insurance described as "paving the way" toward restoring a penalty of approximately $91 million -- this was not a final, collected amount as of that date, and related litigation continued for years afterward (a separate California Supreme Court petition in a related PacifiCare case, S275018/G056160, was not denied until July 27, 2022). This page does not assert a single final, collected penalty figure.

United States and Plaintiff States v. UnitedHealth Group Inc. and Amedisys, Inc. (DOJ antitrust)

Judgment

U.S. District Court, District of MarylandDocket 1:24-cv-03267-JKBSource ↗

Judgment enteredDOJ and several state Attorneys General challenged UnitedHealth's proposed $3.3 billion acquisition of home-health/hospice provider Amedisys, Inc. A Final Judgment was entered December 9, 2025 (modified February 3, 2026), requiring divestiture of at least 164 home-health/hospice locations across 19 states (representing roughly $528 million in associated annual revenue) as a condition of the deal proceeding; Amedisys separately paid a $1.1 million civil penalty for false certifications under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act during the review process.

Minnesota Department of Commerce Consent Order re: UnitedHealth Group mental-health/substance-use-disorder parity compliance

Settled

Minnesota Department of Commerce (administrative consent order)Source ↗

SettledUnitedHealth Group entered a Consent Order settling allegations that it did not demonstrate reimbursement-rate comparability between medical/surgical and mental-health/substance-use-disorder providers, did not maintain accurate provider directories, used utilization-review practices that failed to document denied days/units or advise enrollees of appeal rights, did not timely post accurate MH/SUD prior-authorization statistics, and applied stricter formulary restrictions to certain MH/SUD drugs than to medical/surgical drugs -- all alleged violations of Minnesota parity, utilization-review, and consumer-disclosure statutes (Minn. Stat. 62Q.47, 62K.075, 72A.20, 62M.05, 62M.09, 62M.18). UnitedHealth agreed to a corrective action plan and to pay $300,000 of a $450,000 penalty, with the balance stayed on completion of the plan; the order was for settlement purposes only, with no admission of guilt.
EDITORIAL

What UnitedHealthcare Is

UnitedHealthcare is the health-benefits arm of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE: UNH), founded in 1974 and headquartered at 1 Health Drive, Eden Prairie, Minnesota per its SEC filings -- the largest health insurer in the United States by membership and revenue. Its Better Business Bureau profile still lists an older Hopkins, MN address, which appears not to have been updated to reflect the current headquarters. UnitedHealth Group's other major business line is Optum, a health-services division that includes pharmacy benefit management, care delivery, and technology/data businesses (including Change Healthcare and the post-acute-care analytics company NaviHealth, both discussed on this page). Stephen Hemsley became CEO of UnitedHealth Group on May 12, 2025, succeeding Andrew Witty; the UnitedHealthcare insurance segment itself has had its own CEO, Timothy (Tim) Noel, since January 2025. For 2025, UnitedHealth Group reported $447.6 billion in total revenue, with the UnitedHealthcare insurance segment reporting $344.9 billion in actual revenue, up 16% and serving 49.8 million consumers. UnitedHealth Group directly serves more than 29 million Americans and, across all its businesses worldwide, more than 50 million people.

VERIFIED

Company Relationships

  • Affiliated withOptum
  • Subsidiary ofChange Healthcare
EDITORIAL

Frequently Asked Questions

Is UnitedHealthcare a legitimate health insurer?

UnitedHealthcare is the largest US health insurer. Its BBB profile carries an A- rating (downgraded for failing to respond to complaints), is not BBB accredited, and shows 2,628 complaints in the last 3 years with a 1.11/5 average customer-review score.

What phone number do I call for UnitedHealthcare customer service?

The number depends on the plan type. For a Medicare Advantage or Prescription Drug plan, UnitedHealthcare lists the number on your member ID card. For a health plan through work it lists (866) 801-4409, for a Medicare supplement plan (800) 523-5800, and for short-term insurance (800) 657-8205; TTY is 711 for these. The full list by plan type is on the UnitedHealthcare contact page.

How do I see my UnitedHealthcare member ID card?

UnitedHealthcare says to sign in to your member account or the UnitedHealthcare app and look at the top of the first screen for an option to view your ID card. It may say View ID card, View & print ID card, View UCard, or View & Print UCard member ID. The digital card can be printed or shown on your phone at a provider visit.

Where do doctors and providers sign in to the UnitedHealthcare Provider Portal?

The UnitedHealthcare provider contact page has a link to sign in to the UnitedHealthcare Provider Portal. It lists Provider Portal support at (866) 842-3278, option 1, and Provider Services at (877) 842-3210. Chat requires signing in with a One Healthcare ID.

How do I contact UnitedHealthcare about dental or vision claims?

UnitedHealthcare's contact page lists (866) 877-6187 for dental and vision claims and benefits, and (800) 657-8205 for payment questions on Golden Rule dental plans.

What are UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans?

UnitedHealthcare describes Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans as offering all the benefits of Original Medicare (Part A and Part B), with extras like dental, vision, hearing, and prescription drug coverage. Plans available in an area can be found on its Medicare page, and members are told to call the number on the back of their member ID card.

Has UnitedHealthcare changed its prior authorization requirements?

The UnitedHealthcare provider site states: "Beginning Dec. 1, 2026, we’ll remove prior auth requirements for select services for patients under age 18." The same page says Medicaid prior auth reductions expand to Nebraska, New Jersey and Tennessee. The page is written for providers, so members with questions about a specific service should ask their provider or plan.

What is the "nH Predict" AI algorithm lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare?

A federal class action (filed November 2023) alleges UnitedHealth used an AI tool called nH Predict to estimate how long Medicare Advantage patients should need post-acute rehab care, and used those estimates to cut off coverage -- the complaint cites roughly a 90% reversal rate on denials that were actually appealed. The case is active, with some claims allowed to proceed past a motion to dismiss.

Has UnitedHealthcare faced regulatory fines?

Yes, at multiple points. Its subsidiary PacifiCare was found to have committed hundreds of thousands of claims violations in California, with a 2019 California Supreme Court decision paving the way toward restoring an approximately $91 million penalty (related litigation continued for years afterward); its subsidiary UMR agreed in 2025 to provide at least $20.25 million in relief to settle a Department of Labor ERISA lawsuit over improper claim denials; and UnitedHealth was required to divest home-health/hospice assets by the DOJ as a condition of its Amedisys acquisition in 2025-2026.

Sources (8)

Public records

Review sites

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