Paxton Probes UnitedHealth Over Deceptive Practices
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is opening an investigation into UnitedHealth Group over reports of “deceptive and unlawful practices” and allegations…
Well, here’s a plot twist nobody saw coming. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton—who is also a Republican Senate candidate—is going after UnitedHealth Group, the insurance behemoth, for allegedly denying Texans the care they paid for. It’s not every day you see a conservative official take on corporate healthcare with this kind of aggression, and honestly?
Commentary is separate from the original publisher's reporting.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is opening an investigation into UnitedHealth Group over reports of “deceptive and unlawful practices” and allegations that the company denied Texans access to healthcare.
The Republican Senate candidate is seeking pre-litigation subpoenas, or Civil Investigative Demands, from the healthcare giant to examine the evidence of whether the company violated Texas’s Deceptive Trade Practices Act or any other regulations. His office points to a report alleging the company paid nursing homes to cut down on hospitalizing patients in need of care.
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“Alarming reports keep piling up about how United treats Texas consumers,” Paxton said in a statement. “I will not tolerate any insurance company putting illegal corporate greed over the people of Texas. No Texan should be denied medically necessary care, dragged through endless appeals, or stuck with devastating bills after trusting their insurer’s word.”
Paxton’s office said that in one of the reported cases, a Texan was allegedly initially granted approval for a procedure at an Austin hospital by UnitedHealth Group, but the insurer later withdrew the approval and left the patient with an expensive hospital bill.
“My office will gather the evidence, stand up to this multinational conglomerate, and make sure Texans get the coverage they pay for,” Paxton said.
In a 2025 article by the Guardian that discusses the reported reduction in hospitalizations, UnitedHealth called the report “verifiably false.”
Paxton similarly opened an investigation into Blue Cross Blue Shield of Texas at the end of September, over allegations that the insurance company also denied and delayed urgent and medically necessary care.
UnitedHealth Group has been under the microscope in the U.S. health insurance scene since late 2024, when then-26-year-old Luigi Mangione killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson. Mangione pleaded guilty in court to shooting Thompson, telling the court in August, “I understood that my actions would place him in fear of death or bodily injury.”
Mangione had allegedly written, on the bullet casings, the words “deny,” “defend,” and “depose,” which pundits suspect allude to delaying and denying practices of the healthcare industry.
The Washington Examiner has reached out to UnitedHealth Group for comment on Paxton’s investigation.
Paxton is running for Senate against Democratic Texas state Rep. James Talarico while serving his last year as the state’s attorney general.
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New Republican Times Editorial Board
Well, here’s a plot twist nobody saw coming. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton—who is also a Republican Senate candidate—is going after UnitedHealth Group, the insurance behemoth, for allegedly denying Texans the care they paid for. It’s not every day you see a conservative official take on corporate healthcare with this kind of aggression, and honestly? It’s about time someone did.
Paxton is seeking Civil Investigative Demands to dig through UnitedHealth’s records. That’s the legal equivalent of saying, "Show us the receipts." The accusation is that they used deceptive and unlawful practices to stiff patients on coverage. For anyone who has fought an insurance denial, this isn't a shock. We’ve all heard the stories of prior-authorization nightmares and claims that vanish into a bureaucratic void. When the biggest player in the market gets cozy and complacent, the patient is always the one who loses.
Now, let’s be real about the politics here. Paxton is running for Senate, and taking a swing at a healthcare giant is good populist sport. Some will call it a stunt. But even if it is, a public official using his actual legal authority to demand answers for thousands of denied Texans is a step in the right direction. We need more of this—Republicans who don’t just talk about reining in the bureaucrats but actually go after the corporate ones who hide behind fine print. If UnitedHealth has nothing to hide, they should welcome the scrutiny.
It’s a serious move against a corporate giant that Texans pay billions to every year. And if Paxton’s investigation forces the company to explain its "deny, delay, and defend" playbook, then that’s a win for accountability, regardless of the campaign calendar. We’ll be watching to see if UnitedHealth hands over the goods or starts playing the victim. The burden of proof is on them. If they’ve done wrong, we expect to hear it from his office—with the volume turned up.
Commentary written with AI assistance by the New Republican Times Editorial Board.