LOS ANGELES, June 01, 2026 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — A national class action challenging UnitedHealthcare’s alleged Medicare Advantage predatory practices is pending before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, placing renewed scrutiny on how seniors are marketed Medicare Advantage plans and whether federal preemption has been improperly expanded to shield deceptive conduct against vulnerable populations.
The case, The Estate of Bibi Ahmad v. UnitedHealth Group Inc., et al., was dismissed by the district court solely on federal preemption grounds. In doing so, however, the Court expressly acknowledged the seriousness of the allegations, stating:
“This Court does not minimize the seriousness of the allegations in the Complaint or the grave issues in addressing vulnerable populations’ access to healthcare.”
The lawsuit alleges that UnitedHealthcare, the nation’s largest Medicare Advantage insurer, engaged in a long-running, systemic advertising campaign that deliberately misled seniors into relinquishing their Original Medicare benefits. According to the complaint, United’s marketing falsely suggested that Medicare Advantage plans merely supplemented or combined with Original Medicare, when in reality enrollment required beneficiaries to abandon their government Original Medicare coverage altogether.
The action was filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, Case No. 8:23-cv-02303, and asserts claims under California’s False Advertising Law, Unfair Competition Law, and Consumers Legal Remedies Act. Plaintiffs allege that United’s misrepresentations were not isolated, but the core of a nationwide strategy designed to steer elderly and vulnerable individuals into profit-driven commercial plans through misleading sales pitches and false advertising.
“We are pursuing this appeal not just for accountability for what happened to the seniors harmed by these practices, but to stop a deeply flawed system that quietly strips people of their Medicare rights through deceptive marketing,” said Gloria Juarez, lead counsel for Plaintiffs. “These allegedly deceptive practices affect families across the country, often at the most fragile moments of their lives.”
One example detailed in the complaint involves D.D., a 96-year-old Southern California cancer survivor who was allegedly misled into giving up her Original Medicare coverage. After enrollment, she allegedly lost access to her long-term physicians, experienced delays in cancer treatment, had claims denied, and was sent to collections—despite United continuing to receive generous government payments tied to her purported care. The complaint alleges D.D. was left without recourse after doing nothing wrong.
The Ninth Circuit will decided whether UnitedHealthcare can continue to rely on “preemption” to circumvent state consumer-protection laws in light of the U.S. Supreme Court’s recent decisions curtailing Chevron deference. Plaintiff contends that, post-Chevron, courts may no longer reflexively defer to agency regulations that effectively erase state-law remedies Congress never expressly preempted.
If reinstated, the case would proceed to discovery and class certification, with allegations that UnitedHealthcare’s false advertising practices adversely impacted millions of seniors nationwide, particularly in California.
Law Offices of Gloria Juarez
Gloria Juarez, Esq.
Email: gloria@thegjlaw.com
Telephone: 949-288-3402
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