UnitedHealth, investor fight escalates over doctor dispute

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman pledged to cover the legal fees for a Texas doctor in a dispute with UnitedHealth Group Inc. over her claims that the company asked her to scrub out of an operation to justify a patient’s care.

Ackman, who’s chief executive officer of Pershing Square Capital Management, said on X Thursday that he took down an earlier post critical of the insurer after lawyers for UnitedHealth told him that the doctor’s claims that he had amplified on social media were untrue.

In a now-deleted post on X, Ackman promoted a video earlier this week from Texas surgeon Elisabeth Potter, who alleged that UnitedHealth called her out of an operation to question a patient’s overnight stay. UnitedHealth has disputed Potter’s account and said the insurance company would never ask a doctor to interrupt patient care to return a call.

With his posts, one of the world’s most prominent investors is intensifying a dispute between a doctor and the largest US health insurer playing out on social media. US insurers faced a harsh reaction online following the December shooting death of UnitedHealth executive Brian Thompson. Potter’s video went viral. 

Ackman said in an X post on Thursday he has no position in UnitedHealth but that he cares “about cases when insurers act inappropriately in denying coverage which is why I took interest in this issue.” A representative for Ackman didn’t respond to a request for comment early Friday.

Social media has become a powerful force against insurers. Last year, after widespread outcry on social media, insurance giant Elevance Health Inc. backed off a policy to limit anesthesia coverage when surgery runs long. The insurer cited “widespread misinformation.” 

‘Totally credible’

Ackman, in his first post on UnitedHealth’s dispute with Potter, called on the US Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate the company and suggested that the insurer’s “profitability is massively overstated due to its denial of medically necessary procedures.”

In response, UnitedHealth reported concerns about Ackman’s post to the SEC.

The company has also hired the defamation law firm Clare Locke to counter what it sees as inaccurate social media posts. Potter posted a copy of a letter she received from the firm.

Ackman said he asked the company, Clare Locke and the doctor for information to support their claims.

In a subsequent post Thursday evening, Ackman said he had spoken to Potter and found her story “totally credible.” He pledged to cover her legal expenses but said he was still waiting for more information from the company to fully determine what happened.

Potter said in a phone interview Friday morning that there’s documentation to support her account and “at the right time I will share that.” She’s retained attorneys who have responded to UnitedHealth’s letter, she said.

UnitedHealth had no comment on Ackman’s latest posts Thursday evening. The company has said Potter billed for the case incorrectly and that the patient didn’t owe any money. UnitedHealth said the company approved coverage for the care, including an overnight stay.

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