Catholic nuns sue UnitedHealth

A group of Catholic sisters is suing UnitedHealth Group after the company blocked a shareholder vote on a report about how its acquisitions affect access to care. (globalsistersreport.org) The Sisters of the Holy Names of Jesus and Mary filed the case in federal court on March 20, 2026. Their proposal asked UnitedHealth to report on the effects of its acquisitions and vertical integration over the past decade. (globalsistersreport.org) (fiercehealthcare.com) Vertical integration means one company owns multiple layers of the business, like an insurer, doctor groups and a pharmacy benefit manager. UnitedHealth says that kind of proposal reaches into “ordinary business,” and its lawyers asked the Securities and Exchange Commission to let the company leave it out of 2026 proxy materials. (fiercehealthcare.com) (sec.gov) The Securities and Exchange Commission said on February 13, 2026 that it would not object if UnitedHealth excluded the proposal, based solely on the company’s representation. The sisters say that left a lawsuit as the only way to try to get the measure in front of shareholders. (sec.gov) (globalsistersreport.org) The fight comes after the Securities and Exchange Commission changed its practice in November 2025 and stopped investigating many disputes over excluded shareholder proposals. The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, which includes the sisters’ congregation, sued the agency on March 19 over that policy shift. (globalsistersreport.org) This is the second straight year that faith-based investors have pressed UnitedHealth on care access. In 2025, another proposal asked the company to study whether delays and denials tied to practices like prior authorization were restricting care, but the investors withdrew it after UnitedHealth challenged it twice. (healthcaredive.com) UnitedHealth is not just an insurer. Its businesses include UnitedHealthcare and Optum, and the company’s investor site lists annual reports, proxy statements and Securities and Exchange Commission filings as it prepares for another annual meeting cycle in 2026. (unitedhealthgroup.com) (sec.gov) The company got an early court win on April 15, when a federal judge denied the investor bid to force the proposal into the upcoming proxy. The judge said the proposal raised significant policy concerns but was framed too broadly to qualify for the social-policy exception to the ordinary-business rule. (beckerspayer.com) The sisters’ case started as a shareholder filing, but it now sits at the center of a wider test over how much investors can still ask public companies to explain the human effects of their business decisions. (iccr.org) (globalsistersreport.org)