Debunking false claims about the shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO
The death of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has spurred false claims about the public’s reaction and the company’s response.
UnitedHealth Group’s top executive said the company’s murdered health insurance executive Brian Thompson worked to make the nation’s health-care system better for everyone.
UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty also acknowledged the U.S. health care system is confusing and must improve, citing high prices of medical services as the “root cause” of the nation’s health care woes. Witty’s remarks came as the Minnesota-based health insurance and medical services company announced earnings that fell short of analysts projections’ for the final three months of 2024.
On a call with investors, Witty thanked the public for condolences and support after Thompson was gunned down in Midtown Manhattan last month at the company’s annual investors conference. Thompson was CEO of UnitedHealthcare, the health insurance arm of UnitedHealth Group.
“Many of you knew Brian personally. You knew how much he meant to all of us and how he devoted his time to help him make the health system work better for all of the people we’re privileged to serve,” Witty said. “He would dive in with passion and caring to find solutions to improve experiences, whether for an individual consumer, an employer or a public health agency.”
Witty added that the U.S. health care system needs to function better and “needs to be less confusing, less complex and less costly.”
“America faces the same fundamental health care dynamic as the rest of the world,” Witty said. “The resources available to pay for health care are limited, while demand for healthcare is unlimited.”
He added that the nation’s health care system must address the cost of care to improve quality and access.
“Ultimately improving healthcare means addressing the root cause of health care cost,” Witty said. “Fundamentally, health care costs more in the U.S. because the price of a single procedure, visit or prescription is higher here than it is in other countries.”
Thompson, 50, from Jewell Iowa, was a father of two sons. He’d been CEO since April 2021 and with the company since 2004.
His murder was followed by an outpouring of public frustration over health insurance and the healthcare system more broadly.
In a new /Suffolk University poll, about two in three Americans said the Dec. 4 murder of Thompson was wrong, and the suspected killer should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law.
Most of the rest agreed it was wrong, but said they understood the anger the alleged shooter felt toward America’s health care system.
