The UnitedHealth CEO abruptly stepped down on Tuesday, six months after the CEO of UnitedHealth's subsidiary UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, was murdered.
Andrew Witty cited "personal reasons" for stepping down from the top position. He was replaced by Stephen J. Hemsley, who previously served as the CEO from 2006 to 2017. Hemsley will continue to serve concurrently as chairman of UnitedHealth's board of directors.
"We are grateful for Andrew's stewardship of UnitedHealth Group, especially during some of the most challenging times any company has ever faced," Hemsley said in a press release. "The Board and I have greatly valued his leadership and compassion as chief executive and as a director and wish him and his family the best."
Additionally, the company stated it suspended its 2025 annual outlook to focus on "broadening to more types of benefit offerings than seen in the first quarter." It added that "medical costs of many Medicare Advantage beneficiaries new to UnitedHealthcare remained higher than expected." UnitedHealth's outlook is expected to return in 2026.
Thompson was fatally shot in New York on December 6, 2024. The shooter allegedly wrote "delay," "deny" and "depose" on the bullets, seemingly in reference to a book criticizing policies for health insurance claims.
Luigi Mangione, 26, was arrested in Pennsylvania five days later and accused of murdering Thompson. He was indicted on 11 New York state charges and four federal charges, including first-degree murder, murder in furtherance of terrorism and stalking. U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi is seeking the death penalty for Mangione's federal charges.
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