A January 12, 2026 Senate Judiciary Committee report alleges that UnitedHealth Group artificially inflated the risk adjustment scores of patients in Medicare Advantage plans to obtain higher payments from the federal government.[1][2][3] According to the report, based on a review of 50,000 pages of documents, the company turned risk adjustment into a major profit strategy, which was not the program's original intent.[1][2][4] UnitedHealth, the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans with 10 million members, used aggressive tactics such as home visits by nurses, review of records by coders, and incentivizing providers to record diagnoses.[2][3] These practices led to higher risk scores, including billing for conditions patients did not have.[1] The report highlights that UnitedHealth used its size, vertical integration, and analytical capabilities to preempt CMS' crackdown on unnecessary coding spending.[1][4] The investigation was initiated by Senator Chuck Grassley in February 2025 based on media reports.[2] The report states that payments should depend on the true complexity of members' medical conditions, not knowledge of coding rules.[1]