Students and physicians urge limits on for-profit influence after U of M course taught with UnitedHealth Group involvement

Senate File 3707, introduced by Senator Mann, was presented to the Senate Higher Education Committee as a response to a collaboration between UnitedHealth Group (UHG) and the University of Minnesota Medical School. The bill requests that the Board of Regents prohibit for-profit entities from managing or controlling medical-school curriculum.

Practicing physicians and recent students testified that the course in question — offered in 2024 and described by witnesses as a four-week class with United employees teaching half the content — raised concerns about corporate influence, unvetted materials and the adequacy of the university's conflicts-of-interest review. Dr. Sarah Hartfeldt said the arrangement "made me question my employment at the university" and argued that handing curricular content to a corporate entity risks the medical school's integrity.

Dr. Allison Leopold, who enrolled in the class, told the committee that UnitedHealth Group–taught portions contained "corporate newspeak" and, in some cases, materially incorrect statements that students had to fact-check in real time. She said the course had passed the university's conflicts-of-interest office review, a finding she described as particularly troubling and indicative of the need for a more stringent review process.

Carson Kanor, a second-year medical student, said over 400 medical students, faculty and local physicians signed a petition calling for termination of the course and replacement with an independent health-system science course. Witnesses asked the committee to consider the risk of corporate interests shaping clinical education and the need for transparent disclosures and stricter conflict reviews.

Committee members expressed support for protecting academic integrity while also asking about preserving academic freedom. Following testimony and member discussion, the committee laid SF3707 over for further consideration; no final action was recorded at the hearing.

The bill was not voted on at this meeting; supporters urged additional review and clearer safeguards to prevent profit-driven entities from controlling medical-school curricula.