UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty is acknowledging the public’s growing resentment toward insurers just over a week after the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.
In a Friday op-ed for the New York Times, Witty acknowledged that shortcomings exist in his industry. He called the "patchwork" health care system in the U.S. "flawed" and noted that the frustration of everyday Americans is understandable.
Witty has reassured employees and condemned public reactions following Thompson’s death, but
“We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustrations with it,” Witty admitted. "No one would design a system like the one we have. And no one did. It’s a patchwork built over decades."
Those same sentiments were shared by progressives in Congress earlier this week. Witty claimed UnitedHealthcare was trying its best given the circumstances.
"We understand and share the desire to build a health care system that works better for everyone. That is the purpose of our organization," Witty said.
The op-ed marked Witty's first public comments since Thompson was gunned down in New York City. In the week since he's sent messages to UHG employees condemning the occasionally gleeful coverage of a healthcare CEO's killing and reassuring them with positive testimonials from purported customers.
His piece in the Times is short on actionable recommendations for improvement, though Witty wrote that it was clear something wasn’t working.
“Together with employers, governments and others who pay for care, we need to improve how we explain what insurance covers and how decisions are made,” Witty conceded before defending claim rejection rates and other United policies that have garnered scrutiny.
“The reasons behind coverage decisions are not well understood. We share some of the responsibility,” he claimed. “Behind each decision lies a comprehensive and continually updated body of clinical evidence focused on achieving the best health outcomes and ensuring patient safety.”
Thompson’s killer brought attention to insurance company practices with the shooting, writing the words “defend,” “deny” and “depose” on bullet casings found at the scene. The phrase seems to be a criticism of the playbook insurance companies use to keep claim acceptance rates down and has already caught on among disgruntled customers of other insurance giants.
Luigi Mangione was apprehended earlier this week. The alleged killer was reportedly found with a manifesto alleging United Healthcare and other insurance giants “abuse our country for immense profit.”
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