The following content is sponsored by Americans for Limited Government.
With average family health premiums now costing more than some new cars, Americans have become desperate for relief from skyrocketing health insurance prices. Employer-sponsored family plans now top $28,000 a year, and workers are footing more of the bill.
Families are stretching household budgets, employers are struggling to afford coverage, and workers are being forced to make difficult choices just to keep their health plan.
So, what is one of the nation’s largest health insurance companies doing? Reporting billions in profits while Americans brace for another round of premium increases.
UnitedHealth Group, the health care behemoth that dominates the insurance market, reported $4.11 billion in third-quarter net profit in October, a stunning 75 percent increase from the $2.35 billion it earned during the same period last year. The company’s earnings jumped 60 percent from the third quarter last year to the third quarter this year. That’s 60. 6-0.
Meanwhile, hardworking American taxpayers are facing projected increases of eight to 10 percent in employer-sponsored health insurance premiums for 2027, potentially the largest annual increase in more than two decades.
And it is not just working families feeling the squeeze. UnitedHealth’s 2027 Medicare Advantage plan changes will mean higher premiums and out-of-pocket costs for some seniors, while the company cuts benefits and scales back its plan offerings. For older Americans living on fixed incomes, those changes can make it even harder to afford the care they need.
Let that sink in. Families and seniors are being told to brace for higher bills while one of the industry’s biggest players is dramatically increasing its profits.
Yet even after pulling in $12 billion in profits in 2025, UnitedHealth was in Washington with its hand out, begging lawmakers to extend enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies.
This is not what putting patients first looks like.
Insurance companies have perfected the art of explaining away higher premiums. They point to rising medical expenses, increased demand for care, and other pressures in the health care system. And while those factors can affect costs, Americans deserve a fuller explanation for why their insurance bills keep climbing.
The question is whether UnitedHealth is doing enough to make health care more affordable, or whether its pursuit of ever-greater profits is taking priority over the patients who ultimately pay the bills.
UnitedHealth’s business strategy raises further questions. The company has been shedding Medicare Advantage members, cutting benefits, and withdrawing from certain markets as it focuses on improving margins. According to recent reporting on its third-quarter results, UnitedHealth has reduced its Medicare Advantage membership by 935,000 since the end of 2025. Its financial performance is now rebounding, raising a fundamental question: Who is benefiting from these changes – patients or shareholders?
For seniors and families, health insurance is not an abstract financial product. It is the lifeline that helps them access doctors, manage chronic conditions, and protect themselves from devastating medical bills. Yet patients are increasingly left wondering whether their needs matter as much as the demands of Wall Street.
Americans should not have to choose between paying their health insurance premiums and affording groceries, housing, or other necessities. Nor should seniors have to absorb higher costs while insurers celebrate stronger earnings.
Insurers are entitled to earn a profit. But Americans are entitled to ask why their premiums keep rising while their insurer’s profits surge (and while its true profitability may be obscured by the way it reports its financial performance).
When families are hurting and seniors are paying more, something is badly out of balance. Congress must stop taking insurers at their word and start demanding answers. Lawmakers should investigate UnitedHealth’s pricing practices and accounting methods, scrutinize its impact on competition, and hold the company accountable for putting its bottom line ahead of the patients who depend on it.
Americans deserve transparency, affordable coverage, and a health care system that works for patients – not just corporate shareholders. It is time for Congress to act.
