In news that surprises no one, UnitedHealthcare is being sued by Ballad Health

Just as a conveniently timed smear campaign against Luigi Mangione has been launched!!

From Newsweek: Tennessee health system Ballad Health is suing UnitedHealthcare, alleging the insurer “systematically abused and manipulated the taxpayer-funded Medicare Advantage Program.”

The health system claims United Healthcare extracted “enormous profit” at the expense of taxpayers, patients and the providers needed to provide access to care, “particularly in rural and underserved communities.”

Ballad Health alleges UnitedHealthcare’s actions have resulted in more than $65 million in damages over the last five years.

“The outgrowth of this abuse is [UnitedHealthcare’s] improper and systematic denials of claims for medically necessary care that Ballad Health provided and continues to provide to the elderly, low-income and otherwise vulnerable patients of Virginia and Tennessee’s Appalachian region,” the lawsuit states.

According to a press release from Ballad Health, this lawsuit is the first time Ballad Health has sued an insurance company. Health system leadership said the decision was made “only after years of attempting to resolve payment and patient care issues without success.”

“Taking legal action was our last resort,” Ballad Health CEO and Chairman Alan Levine said in a statement. “This is not our first choice; it’s not a choice we’ve had to make before. But we had to take action because we believe UnitedHealth’s behaviors are so harmful to patients, doctors and community hospitals.”