UnitedHealth Group - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

UnitedHealth Group is High Risk.

UnitedHealth Group is High Risk. The company yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. The company embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	High Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	High Risk

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

UnitedHealth Group received a score of 100 on the 2025 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group. The company recruits employees based on sexual identity issues. The company discriminates against vendors that do not promote divisive sex and gender policies, indicating it prioritizes sexual issues over merit (1)(2). The company promotes divisive sex and gender policies. Its Supplier Code of Conduct requires international vendors to include sexual orientation and gender identity in their nondiscrimination policy (3). However, UnitedHealth Group has not canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (4).

Criteria:

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

UnitedHealth Group’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company will not donate to non-religious charities unless they embrace controversial sexual identity policies (1)(2). The company will not fund “religious organizations for religious purposes” (3). UnitedHealth Group likely uses Benevity as its charitable giving platform. Benevity vets charities according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hate List, which includes mainstream libertarian, conservative, family, and religious advocacy organizations (4)(5)(6).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

UnitedHealth Group’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company forces employees to attend multiple, controversial trainings on gender identity, sexual orientation, transgender issues, and divisive racial ideology. The company provides gender transition guidelines for its employees and a specific benefits guide with a comprehensive explanation of transgender services funded by the company (1)(2). The company offers unconscious bias training to its employees (3). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its supply chain. From its Supplier Code of Conduct: “We recognize the importance of an inclusive supply chain and are committed to ensuring that diversity and inclusion is an integral part of our strategic sourcing and procurement processes. We support use of diverse suppliers (defined as a supplier who maintains a valid certification as a minority, women, veteran, LGBTQ+, disabled or service-disabled owned business), to the maximum practicable opportunity to
participate in any subcontracts or orders in support of our business” (4). The company is an affirmative action employer, “UnitedHealth Group is an Equal Employment Opportunity/Affirmative Action employer” (5). UnitedHealth Group appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its leadership composition. From its 2021 Sustainability Report: “The board’s diversity is considered in the director nomination process and assessed annually when the board evaluates overall effectiveness.” (6). The company has a history of divisive corporate policies using reputation to support divisive practices. However, in July 2025, the company removed DEI quotas from its 2021 Sustainability Report. To date, the company has not publicly addressed these changes, leaving shareholders without clarity regarding the company’s reasoning or future direction (6). The company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (7).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

UnitedHealth Group ‘s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company agrees to allow a controversial stakeholder group focused on sexual identity issues to dictate marketing or advertising strategy. By doing so, the company risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (1)(2). UnitedHealth Group’s CEO Stephen Hemsley is a member of the Business Roundtable, which supports stakeholder capitalism over traditional shareholder obligations (3). The company’s CEO, Andrew Witty, signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which includes a commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace, strategize on DEI programs/initiatives with other signatories, and engage boards of directors when developing and evaluating DEI strategies (4)(5). UnitedHealth Group is committed to net zero emissions by 2050 (6). The company scored a 100 out of 100 on the 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group (7)(8). UnitedHealth Group supports DEI within its business practices, forming the Global Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Office and an Advancing Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Board (9). The company supports ESG within its business practices, “encourag[ing] our suppliers to track, report and minimize their greenhouse gas emissions, set science-based reduction targets aligned with limiting global warming to 1.5 C above pre-industrial levels” (10). The company has a history of using reputation to support divisive practices. However, in July 2025, the company removed DEI and ESG language from its Sustainability Report. To date, the company has not publicly addressed these changes, leaving shareholders without clarity regarding the company’s reasoning or future direction (11).

Criteria:

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

UnitedHealth Group provides a benefits package for employees that covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion and transgender medical procedures for covered employees and dependents, including children (1)(2). The company’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company covers transgender related costs for its employees and their children, including paid short-term leave, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, chest surgeries, genital surgeries, medical visits and lab monitoring, travel and lodging. Additionally, the company has pledged philanthropic support of at least one organization or event that promotes sex and gender ideology. By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company increases health care costs and risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (3)(4). The company is a silver sponsor of the HRC (5). UnitedHealth Group is a partner of the HRC’s Foundation (6)(7). The company donated $10,000,000 to BLM and related causes (8)(9). UnitedHealth Group is a member of the MCCA, indicating its focus on recruiting, retaining, and promoting employees based on race (10)(11). The company was a silver sponsor of Out and Equal (12). UnitedHealth Group is a corporate partner of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (13). The company was a Platinum level sponsor of the 2025 HRC National Dinner (14). UnitedHealth Group sponsored the 2025 Delaware (LGBTQ) Pride Festival (15). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (16).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

UnitedHealth Group’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company publicly advocated for controversial sex and gender ideology through local, state or federal legislation or initiatives. By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (1)(2). In 2024, the company donated to the Equality PAC and has not used its lobbying for ideological purposes (3)(4)(5).