08:48 AM EDT, 07/09/2025 (MT Newswires) -- (Updates with UnitedHealth's ( UNH ) response in the fourth and fifth paragraphs and latest stock moves in sixth paragraph.)

UnitedHealth's ( UNH ) Medicare billing practices are being investigated by the US Justice Department's criminal healthcare-fraud unit, The Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday, citing people familiar with the matter.

The investigation includes how the healthcare giant asked doctors and nurses to gather diagnoses that boosted its payments, the report said.

Former UnitedHealth ( UNH ) employees said they were asked detailed questions by prosecutors in recent weeks about the company's attempts to push the documentation of certain lucrative diagnoses to ensure that medical conditions were identified, the report said.

UnitedHealth ( UNH ) referred MT Newswires to a statement in which it rejected the Journal's report as part of a "campaign" by the newspaper against Medicare Advantage that relies on "incomplete data, a predetermined narrative, and a flawed understanding."

The company said its operations are governed by federal rules and subject to oversight. "We expect and welcome regular reviews of our policies and practices," the company said. "We are among the most accurate in the industry in our coding practices, demonstrating our commitment to integrity and compliance."

Shares of the company were down 1% in recent premarket activity.

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