UnitedHealth Group revealed Thursday it is facing a Justice Department investigation over its Medicare billing practices. It comes after the Wall Street Journal reported in May that the Department of Justice is conducting a criminal investigation into the health-care giant over possible Medicare fraud. In response at the time, the company said it stands “by the integrity of our Medicare Advantage program.” In July, the Journal also reported that the DOJ interviewed several doctors about UnitedHealth’s practices and whether they felt pressured to submit claims for certain conditions that bolstered payments from the Medicare Advantage program to the company. That marked the second time this year that the insurer’s Medicare Advantage business has come under federal scrutiny. The Journal also reported in February that the DOJ is conducting a civil investigation into whether the company inflated diagnoses to trigger extra payments to its Medicare Advantage plans. But in March, UnitedHealth…
