STAT+: Private Medicare plans erect barriers to rehab care in pursuit of profit, federal investigators find

Federal investigators found that dominant Medicare Advantage insurers, including UnitedHealth Group and Humana, denied rehabilitative care for older and disabled Americans at higher rates than peers, with 97% of denials overturned upon patient appeal. These insurers used a UnitedHealth subsidiary, NaviHealth, which employs AI to assess care needs, but frequently reversed its denials after scrutiny during appeals.