Explore the power, profits, and pressures of the health care giant

Discover how UnitedHealth Group quietly grew from a traditional health insurer into one of the most powerful — and controversial — players in American health care.

Inside the business of modern health care

In STAT’s award-winning investigative series Health Care’s Colossus, we uncover how the $400 billion company acquired physician groups, surgery centers and pharmacies while keeping its name hidden behind local brands. Today, UnitedHealth employs or affiliates with nearly 90,000 doctors — more than 10% of U.S. physicians — and is the nation’s third-largest company by revenue in 2024.

Learn how UnitedHealth strategically profits by funneling patients into its own networks, paying itself more than competitors and pressuring doctors to maximize Medicare Advantage billing — often at the expense of clinical judgment. STAT’s in-depth reporting exposes how this vast empire affects patient care, doctor autonomy and health care costs.

As bipartisan calls grow to break up the company and federal investigations intensify, the stakes have never been higher. Whether through insurance, medical care or a major data breach, UnitedHealth likely touches your life or that of someone you love. With nearly every American affected in some way, understanding their influence is essential.

A company this consequential must be examined and understood — even if it doesn’t want to be. At STAT, we won’t stop doing that. In this report, explore the power, profits and pressures behind America’s most dominant health care company — and the reckoning it now faces.

Read the full report and uncover the truth about UnitedHealth’s rise to power.