UnitedHealth Group leader breaks silence on CEO murder, says health care system is flawed

The leader of UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, paid tribute to slain chief executive officer Brian Thompson and acknowledged that the health care system “does not work as well as it should” in an op-ed published in The New York Times on Friday. 

There has been an “enormous outpouring of support” for Thompson and his loved ones after the UHC leader was shot and killed in New York City, Andrew Witty, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group, wrote, but he said company employees have also faced threats and vitriol online. 

“No employees — be they the people who answer customer calls or nurses who visit patients in their homes — should have to fear for their and their loved ones’ safety,” Witty wrote. 

Witty said that he understood people’s frustrations with the health care system. Americans pay more than ever for health insurance, even as insurers are rejecting more than 1 in 5 claims. Most adults in the U.S. say they worry about their ability to pay for health care services or unexpected medical bills, according to a 2024 KFF survey. The New York Police Department said that there is no indication Mangione was a client of the company, but officials believe UHC may have been targeted due to its status as the largest health insurer in the U.S. 

Since Thompson’s murder, some have used social media to vent about their experiences with health insurance companies, and others have even celebrated Thompson’s accused killer, Luigi Mangione. The shooting has thrust a new spotlight on the safety of executives and other high-ranking employees.   

“We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustrations with it. No one would design a system like the one we have,” Witty wrote. “And no one did. It’s a patchwork built over decades.” 

Witty said that while UHC is willing to “partner with anyone” who could help the system work better, “clearly, we are not there yet.” 

“We understand and share the desire to build a health care system that works better for everyone. That is the purpose of our organization,” he wrote. 

Witty said that Thompson is among the people working in the health care industry who “try to do their best for those they serve.” The UHC CEO was raised in the same farmhouse as his mother, Witty wrote, and worked farm jobs as a child. That rural upbringing inspired his ethos as CEO, Witty said. 

“He never forgot where he came from, because it was the needs of people who live in places like Jewell, Iowa, that he considered first in finding ways to improve care,” Witty wrote. “When a colleague proposed a new idea to Brian, he would always ask, ‘Would you want this for your own family?’ If not, end of discussion.” 

Witty added that Thompson was “never content with the status quo” and praised the CEO for advocating for ideas that “were aimed at making health care more affordable, more transparent, more intuitive, more compassionate — and more human.” 

“That’s Brian’s legacy, one that we will carry forward by continuing our work to make the health system work better for everyone,” WItty wrote.