Medicare Drops Appeal in UnitedHealth Star Rating Lawsuit (1)

US officials dropped their appeal of a UnitedHealth Group Inc. lawsuit challenging the federal Medicare program’s quality ratings, a potential boon for insurers protesting the rankings that drive billions of dollars in payments to private plans.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services withdrew its appeal in a filing in a Texas federal court Friday. The decision may signal that the Trump administration won’t fight insurance companies arguing their ratings are too low, a critical issue in a pending lawsuit filed by Humana Inc. that could significantly impact its future profitability.

The move is an abrupt reversal of the agency’s ...