The following content is sponsored by United States Limited Government.
With the average home health premium now more expensive than some new cars, Americans are desperate for relief from skyrocketing health insurance prices. Employer-sponsored family plans now cost up to $28,000 a year, with workers shouldering more of the cost.
Household budgets are stretched thin, employers struggle to afford insurance, and workers are forced to make difficult choices just to maintain their health plans.
So what is one of the largest health insurance companies in the United States doing? Billions of dollars in profits were reported while Americans braced for another round of premium increases.
UnitedHealth Group, the health care giant that dominates the insurance market, reported third-quarter net profit of $4.11 billion in October, a staggering 75% increase from $2.35 billion in the same period last year. From the third quarter of last year to the third quarter of this year, the company’s profits increased by 60%. That’s 60. 6-0.
Meanwhile, diligent American taxpayers expect employer-sponsored health insurance premiums to increase by 8% to 10% in 2027, which could be the largest annual increase in more than two decades.
It’s not just wage earners feeling the pinch. 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, the changes could make it harder to afford the care they need.
Let’s understand this. Families and seniors are being told to prepare for higher bills, while one of the industry’s biggest players is significantly increasing its profits.
Yet even after posting $12 billion in profits in 2025, UnitedHealth Group is reaching out to Washington, pleading with lawmakers to extend the Affordable Care Act’s enhanced subsidies.
This is not putting patients first.
Insurance companies have perfected the art of explaining higher premiums. They point to rising medical costs, increased demand for care and other pressures on the health care system. While these factors affect costs, Americans deserve a more comprehensive explanation as to why their insurance costs are rising.
The question is whether UnitedHealth is doing enough to make health care more affordable, or whether its pursuit of greater profits takes precedence over patients who ultimately pay their bills.
UnitedHealth Group’s business strategy raises further questions. The company has been cutting back on Medicare Advantage memberships, cutting benefits and exiting certain markets as it focuses on improving profit margins. UnitedHealth has reduced its Medicare Advantage membership base by 935,000 members since the end of 2025, according to its most recent third-quarter earnings report. Its financial performance is now rebounding, raising a fundamental question: Who benefits from these changes – patients or shareholders?
For seniors and families, health insurance is not an abstract financial product. It’s a lifeline that helps them see doctors, manage chronic conditions and protect themselves from devastating medical bills. Increasingly, however, patients want to know whether their needs are as important as those of Wall Street.
Americans should not have to choose between paying for health insurance and buying groceries, housing or other necessities. While insurance companies celebrate strong earnings, seniors shouldn’t have to endure higher costs either.
Insurance companies have the right to make profits. But Americans have a right to ask why their premiums keep rising while insurance companies’ profits soar (while their true profitability may be obscured by the way they report financial results).
A serious imbalance occurs when families are hurt and seniors pay more. Congress must stop believing the promises of insurance companies and start demanding answers from them. Lawmakers should investigate UnitedHealth’s pricing practices and accounting methods, review their impact on competition, and hold the company accountable for putting its profits ahead of the patients who rely on it.
Americans deserve transparency, affordable insurance, and a health care system that works for patients, not just corporate shareholders. Now is the time for Congress to take action.