UnitedHealth Falls on DOJ Probe Into Medicare Billing (3)

The US Justice Department has been investigating UnitedHealth Group Inc.’s Medicare billing practices, a person familiar with the matter said. The company’s stock fell sharply.

The Wall Street Journal first reported the civil fraud investigation into whether the insurance giant’s practices related to patient diagnoses force higher payments from the government’s Medicare Advantage program.

Shares of UnitedHealth fell 7.2% in New York. Humana Inc., which has a large Medicare business, dropped 5.7%.

The DOJ declined to comment on the news. UnitedHealth pushed back against the report.

“We are not aware of the ‘launch’ of any ‘new’ activity,” ...