The Scoop: UnitedHealth uses legal threats to silence critics

The New York Times reports that UnitedHealth (UH), which operates health insurance, doctor networks, and pharmacy benefits, has used the threat of legal action in an attempt to silence those who criticize the company. That includes traditional journalists, documentarians, doctors on social media and even a billionaire.

In one case, plastic surgeon Dr. Elisabeth Potter made a TikTok that claimed she received a call from UH while in the operating room performing surgery, scrubbed out to call them back, and was asked to justify a hospital stay for a patient with cancer whose surgery had already been approved.

“Insurance is out of control,” she said.

Within a week, she received a letter from UH’s counsel calling the video libelous and demanding she delete the video and apologize. Potter’s own representation defended the video, and they never heard back from the insurer.

But UH’s actions did not stop there, the Times reported. Bill Ackman, a billionaire investor, shared the video with his followers on X, urging the SEC to investigate the company. UH fought back, contacting the SEC itself to claim Ackman was manipulating the stock price and sending another letter about defamation. Ackman deleted his initial post, but after consultation with Potter, he spoke out again on the topic, saying he believed Potter had told the truth in her video.

“I also believe that UNH’s threatening defamation letter to Dr. Potter and its public statements about my post and SEC complaint are simply brazen attempts to silence UNH’s critics,” Ackman wrote on X.

In a statement to the Times, UH spokesperson Eric Hausman wrote: “The truth matters, and there’s a big difference between ‘criticism’ and irresponsibly omitting facts and context. When others get it wrong, we have an obligation to our customers, employees and other stakeholders to correct the record, including by making our case in court when necessary.”

Why it matters: Hausman is right, of course, that legal action against demonstrably false statements can be an important part of a communications strategy. With so much misinformation flying at the speed of algorithms, it can feel impossible for companies to keep up and sort what’s good-faith criticism from something more sinister.

UH, of course, has another wrinkle to its story. Its CEO was murdered, and any post about the company is likely to include comments referencing or celebrating this crime. And UH has used this as a justification for some of its legal threats, the Times reports.

However, there is a fine line to walk between defending a company from defamation and silencing legitimate criticism that could help a company improve. As we can see in this story, it can sometimes cross into the dreaded Streisand effect, where trying to keep something quiet leads to far more attention than it received in the first place.

When deciding what journalism or social media posts should be escalated to the legal department, communications professionals must weigh, first and foremost, are the allegations false? Are they damaging to the company or something that’s likely to blow over quickly? And will pursuing legal action simply draw more attention to them, thus keeping the stories in the news cycle longer?

Editor’s Top Reads:

• The Senate will vote this week on whether or not to continue funding National Public Media (PBS, NPR and local affiliates) to the tune of $500 billion. Public media has become a favorite target of President Donald Trump and other conservatives, who claim the stations are biased. If funding is cut, the New York Times estimates that 18% of NPR stations would have to cease broadcasting, which would impact 30% of listeners. Stations in the Midwest, South and West would be most impacted, particularly in more rural areas where underwriters are less likely to pick up for the shortfall. Local PBS stations would also likely be impacted. If this funding is cut, it’s another blow for communicators attempting to microtarget messages, especially those in rural communities with few other media options. Watch this vote closely.
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• The BBC has fired one of the hosts of its hit “MasterChef” program (the UK version, not the successful copies that play in the US, Australia and other countries) after dozens of allegations of sexually inappropriate comments from Gregg Wallace toward staff. “Although the full extent of these issues were not known at the relevant time, opportunities were missed to address this behaviour — both by the production companies running MasterChef and the BBC,” the BBC said in a statement. “We accept more could and should have been done sooner.” Banijay UK, the show’s production company, issued a more full-throated apology. “We are extremely sorry to anyone who has been impacted by this behaviour and felt unable to speak up at the time or that their complaint was not adequately addressed,” Chief Executive Patrick Holland wrote. This incident shows how intertwined HR procedures can be with PR. Working closely with HR when incidents occur and messaging appropriately before things reach a fevered pitch is the best defense.

Allison Carter is editorial director of PR Daily and Ragan.com. Follow her on LinkedIn.