# Medicare Advantage *Medicare program whose largest insurer, according to the reporting in this record, is headquartered in Hennepin County, Minnesota* Medicare Advantage enters the Minnesota record through federal spending data. On August 29, 2026, The Center Square reported a SmartAsset survey of 3,132 counties. The survey ranked [[Hennepin County, Minnesota]] first in the United States in federal dollars received between January 1, 2025 and June 30, 2026, at more than $286 billion.[^1] As reported, the survey's author explained the ranking by an address. The nation's largest Medicare Advantage insurer is headquartered in the county, and federal data assign the spending to the insurer rather than to the beneficiary.[^1] The project's dossier identifies that insurer as UnitedHealth Group, headquartered in Minnetonka.[^2] On July 24, 2025, the company stated that it had begun complying with "formal criminal and civil requests" from the Department of Justice. In the same release, it asserted that independent CMS audits show its practices "are among the most accurate in the industry."[^2] The record shows three things: the reported total, the booking mechanism as the study's author described it, and the insurer's location. It does not establish how much of the money paid for care delivered in Hennepin County. It carries no resolution of the Department of Justice requests.[^1][^2] ## What The record carries no statute or federal agency description of Medicare Advantage. It documents the program by one output: where its spending is recorded. In the reporting, the county's first-place federal total resolves into a booking address, because Medicare Advantage payments are recorded at the insurer's headquarters rather than where the beneficiary receives care.[^1] UnitedHealth Group's own statement places that headquarters in Minnetonka, Hennepin County.[^2] Of the more than $286 billion reported for the county, $282.8 billion was direct assistance.[^1] ## Who SmartAsset conducted the county survey, and Elyse Apel reported it for The Center Square.[^1] The reported mechanism comes from the study's own author, not from a federal agency.[^1] UnitedHealth Group is the insurer the dossier links to the headquarters mechanism. Its July 24, 2025 release, titled *UHG Responds to DOJ Investigation*, says the company is complying with criminal and civil requests from the Department. The dossier describes those requests as concerning the company's Medicare participation.[^2] The release sets the company's own account of its practices beside that disclosure. It cites independent CMS audits in the company's favor in the same document that reports the Department's requests.[^2] The project's dossier is dated September 2, 2026. As of that date, it records that no 2026 resolution, settlement, indictment or declination had been located. It asserts no change in status.[^2] ## When The survey window ran eighteen months, from January 1, 2025 to June 30, 2026.[^1] UnitedHealth Group's statement on the Department of Justice requests, dated July 24, 2025, falls inside that window.[^2] The Center Square published its report on August 29, 2026.[^1] ## Where The insurer's headquarters is in Minnetonka, in Hennepin County, [[Minnesota]].[^2] According to the reporting, that address, not the location of the patient, is where federal data record the Medicare Advantage spending.[^1] ## How much The county received more than $286 billion in federal dollars over the eighteen-month survey period, according to the reporting. Of that, $282.8 billion was direct assistance.[^1] The per-resident figure was $222,702, which ranked eleventh nationally on that measure even as the county ranked first in total dollars.[^1] Other figures in the record give scale. Hennepin County's all-industry GDP for 2024 was $193.6 billion ($193,617,316 thousand).[^6] Its 2026 county budget, adopted December 11, 2025, totals $3.15 billion.[^8] ## How many The SmartAsset survey covered 3,132 counties.[^1] The U.S. Census Bureau estimated Hennepin County's population at 1,284,784 as of July 1, 2025. The 2020 census count was 1,281,565.[^4] ## In the at-issue record The record files the Hennepin ranking as at-issue entry 035, under Block D, *The Booking-Address Economy*, at shock 78. It appears both as AI-035 and as AI-Hennepin-035 in the Hennepin package; see [[At issue 035 - Hennepin County is first in the United States]].[^1] The entry restates the $286 billion total, the $222,702 per-resident figure and the study author's booking mechanism. It rests on one source, a news report from thecentersquare.com.[^1] The entry is anchored to a March 2025 presidential action, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse*. Its stated reason for that anchor is that the largest single federal disbursement destination in the country resolves to one corporate headquarters.[^3] The text of the presidential action is not in the record. The record does not show that the action addresses Medicare Advantage or how federal data assign spending to an address.[^3] ## In the Minnesota record ### Where Hennepin County had 1,284,784 residents in the Census Bureau's July 1, 2025 estimate.[^4] That is 22.0% of Minnesota's estimated 5,830,405. The project derived this share from the two Census pages; it is not itself published.[^4][^5] The county's 2024 GDP of $193.6 billion is 38.1% of Minnesota's $507.7 billion all-industry GDP, also a derived ratio.[^6][^7] ### How much The Hennepin County Board adopted the 2026 budget on December 11, 2025. It totals $3.15 billion: $2.78 billion operating, up 9.0%, and $374 million capital. It is funded in part by a $1.13 billion property tax levy, a 7.79% increase.[^8] The Sun Post reported how the budget is divided. Human Services takes 26.8% and Health 21.2%. [[Law, Safety and Justice]], which covers the [[sheriff]] and the [[county attorney]], takes 15%. [[Operations and Disparity Reduction]] takes 13.8%.[^9] These shares rest on that journalism. The county's own budget documents were not retrieved for the record.[^9] ## Notes [^1]: The Center Square (Elyse Apel), *Minnesota's Hennepin County tops U.S. in federal spending* (Aug. 29, 2026) — reports SmartAsset's survey of 3,132 counties, Jan. 1, 2025 – June 30, 2026: Hennepin first nationally at more than $286 billion, $282.8 billion direct assistance, $222,702 per resident (eleventh); reports the study author's statement that the nation's largest Medicare Advantage insurer is headquartered in the county and federal data book the spending to its address. https://www.thecentersquare.com/minnesota/article_96460bd8-0fdb-4652-9c1a-0aa5edaccc78.html [^2]: UnitedHealth Group, *UHG Responds to DOJ Investigation* (July 24, 2025) — company statement that "The Company has now begun complying with formal criminal and civil requests from the Department"; asserts "Independent CMS audits confirm that the Company's practices are among the most accurate in the industry"; headquarters Minnetonka, Hennepin County. https://www.unitedhealthgroup.com/newsroom/2025/2025-07-24-uhg-responds-to-doj-investigation.html [^3]: The White House, *Protecting America's Bank Account Against Fraud, Waste, and Abuse* (March 2025) — presidential action cited as the anchor of at-issue entry 035. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/protecting-americas-bank-account-against-fraud-waste-and-abuse/ [^4]: U.S. Census Bureau, *QuickFacts: Hennepin County, Minnesota* (July 1, 2025 estimate) — population 1,281,565 (April 1, 2020 census); 1,284,784 (July 1, 2025 estimate). https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/hennepincountyminnesota/PST045224 [^5]: U.S. Census Bureau, *QuickFacts: Minnesota* (July 1, 2025 estimate) — population 5,706,494 (2020 census); 5,830,405 (July 1, 2025 estimate). https://www.census.gov/quickfacts/fact/table/MN/PST045224 [^6]: Bureau of Economic Analysis via FRED, *All Industry Total GDP, Hennepin County, MN* (2024) — $193,617,316 thousand. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/GDPALL27053 [^7]: Bureau of Economic Analysis via FRED, *Minnesota All-Industry GDP* (2024) — $507,687.8 million. https://fred.stlouisfed.org/series/MNNGSP [^8]: Hennepin County, *2026 budget adoption bulletin* (Dec. 11, 2025) — $3.15 billion total; $2.78 billion operating (up 9.0%); $374 million capital; $1.13 billion property tax levy, a 7.79% increase. https://content.govdelivery.com/accounts/MNHENNE/bulletins/3ff072c [^9]: Sun Post (Hometown Source), *Hennepin County Board adopts $3.15B budget for 2026* (Dec. 2025) — budget composition: Human Services 26.8%, Health 21.2%, Law/Safety/Justice 15%, Operations & Disparity Reduction 13.8%; journalism, not a primary county document. https://www.hometownsource.com/sun_post/free/hennepin-county-board-adopts-3-15b-budget-for-2026/article_18def2d9-37f8-400d-b5ef-6ed6ffd6e4f5.html