Oversight Record · 6 of 9 · Democrat · California CA-44 · Energy & Commerce
Rep. Nanette Barragán (D-CA)
U.S. House · Energy & Commerce · "Less Than 2%" · January 22, 2026
What She Asked
Eight minutes after Rep. Dingell's exchange, Rep. Barragán held up a chart from KFF's analysis of 2023 HealthCare.gov data. UnitedHealth Group: 14,022,287 in-network claims received across 20 states, 4,670,649 denied. A 33% in-network denial rate.
She quoted his earlier answer back to him and asked whether the report was wrong, or whether he just didn't know his own denial rates. Then she asked what he thought his rate was.
The Exchange · Watch It
Opens the committee's official hearing video at 2:30:28, as she brings up the chart. Her full questioning runs 2:28:41 to 2:34:13.
On the Record · January 22, 2026
"You just told my colleague that wasn't accurate. Are you saying the report is inaccurate?… Or are you just not aware of what your denial rates are?"
— Rep. Barragán, 2:30:50
"I think we are aware of our denial rates. I don't know the context of what you're showing me."
— Stephen Hemsley, CEO, UnitedHealth Group, 2:31:01
"What do you think your denial rate is?"
— Rep. Barragán, 2:31:19
"Less than 2%."
— Stephen Hemsley, 2:31:19
"That's like wildly off from any numbers that I have seen."
— Rep. Barragán, 2:31:22
"Less than 1% of claims are appealed, but when they are, insurance reverse their decision 44% of the time. That's almost half. Why do your patients have to fight your company to get their claims covered?"
— Rep. Barragán, 2:33:16
Transcribed from the official hearing video; speakers verified on screen. Fillers ("um," "uh") removed; nothing else changed.
Entered Into the Record
She entered a February 2025 Los Angeles Times story about Colleen Henderson's family. Their three-year-old daughter had a rare tumor in her bladder. They fought UnitedHealthcare for five years over specialty care her doctors recommended, ended up with $1 million in medical debt, and declared bankruptcy. Hemsley called it "a tragic situation" and said he didn't know the details.
Reading It Fairly
The 33% is KFF's count for 2023 HealthCare.gov plans only, not every UnitedHealthcare product, and it includes denials of all kinds, since insurers don't report reasons for most. Hemsley didn't say what his "less than 2%" measured. The full exchange and the data →
The Pincer · Two Members, One Answer
Eight minutes apart, two members put the same question to UnitedHealth Group's CEO from two directions. Rep. Debbie Dingell brought CBS's one-third figure; he said it wasn't "consistent with our experience at all." Rep. Nanette Barragán held up KFF's chart, quoted his answer back to him, and asked what he thought his rate was. "Less than 2%."
In between, Rep. Buddy Carter (R-GA) told him about a cancer patient his company had denied. Different parties, same answer: the data and the patients said one thing, and the CEO said another. Both exchanges side by side, with the data →
Her Bills · Both Bipartisan
- Ensuring Timely Access to Coverage Decisions Act (H.R. 8500), introduced April 30, 2026, with Rep. Neal Dunn, MD (R-FL). It targets Medicare's local coverage determinations, the regional rules that decide what Medicare covers: more input from patients and clinicians, deadlines for decisions, and a formal review process for reconsiderations. Barragán: the goal is to make the process "more timely, transparent, and better backed by clinical expertise."
- Access to Innovative Treatments Act, reintroduced June 24, 2026, with Rep. John Joyce, MD (R-PA). It would require CMS to reconsider certain Medicare coverage decisions in a timely way when new evidence emerges, and to evaluate drugs individually rather than as a whole class. "Patients should not be denied access to promising treatments simply because of outdated or overly broad coverage decisions."
Why the first one matters here: a local coverage determination, LCD L33787, is the Medicare rule at the center of Michael Kissling's prosthetic-knee denial.
Why This Is Here — and What It Is Not
This is not an endorsement of Rep. Barragán's politics. It's here because she put a published denial rate in front of the largest insurer's CEO, on the record, put a family's bankruptcy into the record, and has two bipartisan bills aimed at how Medicare decides what it covers.
Congressional Voices is a record, not a roster. A good question or a good bill counts here whichever side of the aisle it comes from. AbilityForge has not contacted Rep. Barragán, and she has not reviewed this page.
Tell Them AbilityForge Sent You
She held up the numbers and asked the CEO to answer for them. Contact her office to thank her and to support H.R. 8500, a bipartisan fix to how Medicare makes coverage decisions.
Sources
- House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee — hearing with health insurance company CEOs, January 22, 2026 (official video)
- Rep. Barragán — Reps. Barragán and Dunn introduce bill to ensure timely access to care for Medicare patients, April 30, 2026
- Rep. Barragán — Reps. Barragán and Joyce introduce bipartisan legislation, June 25, 2026
- KFF analysis of 2023 HealthCare.gov claims data, as shown on the chart at the hearing.
- Portrait: official congressional photo.
Other Members in This Series