Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealth Group, testifies during a Senate Finance Committee hearing titled “Hacking America's Healthcare: Assessing the Change in Healthcare Cyberattack and What's Next,” at the Dirksen Building in Washington, D.C., on May 1, 2024.
Tom Williams | Cq-roll Call, Inc. | Getty Images
UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty on Friday mourned the death of Brian Thompson, who led the company's insurance arm, and acknowledged that the U.S. health care system is “flawed” and in need of reform.
“We know that the health system is not working as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustration with it,” Whitty wrote in an opinion piece published by the New York Times. “No one is going to design a system like the one we have. No one has. It's a patchwork that's been built up over decades.”
UnitedHealth Group's mission “is to help make it work better,” he said.
“We are willing to partner with anyone, as we have always done — health care providers, employers, patients, pharmaceutical companies, governments and others — to find ways to deliver higher-quality care at lower costs,” Whitty added.
The New York Times article marks Whitty's first public comments since last week's fatal shooting of Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the largest private insurer in the United States. UnitedHealth Group is the nation's largest health care group based on revenue. Its roughly $475 billion market capitalization has shrunk since Thompson's death on December 4.
Luigi Mangione, 26, is accused of fatally shooting Thompson outside the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan as the CEO was heading to UnitedHealth Group's investor day. Investigators said Mangione was critical of the health care industry, a view widely held among Americans.
The murder unleashed a wave of pent-up resentment and anger toward the insurance industry, which has become a popular villain blamed for rising health care costs and difficulties accessing care. From denied claims, higher insurance premiums and unexpected bills, to a general lack of transparency, patients have flooded social media with stories of their negative experiences with insurance.
However, the murder comes after a challenging year for insurers, which are under pressure to boost their profits. This year in particular, companies have faced rising medical costs as seniors opt for surgeries they delayed during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Whitty acknowledged UnitedHealth Group's role in healthcare challenges in the United States
“Health care is a very personal and very complex matter, and the reasons behind coverage decisions are not well understood,” Whitty said, noting that “we share some responsibility for that.”
He did not provide details about what could be done to reform the industry. But Witty said the company, in collaboration with employers, governments and other payers, needs to improve how insurers explain what's covered and how those decisions are made.
He also noted that behind some claims decisions “lies a comprehensive and continually updated body of clinical evidence focused on achieving the best health outcomes and ensuring patient safety.”
Whitty said Thompson did his best to help patients navigate the health care system.
