UnitedHealthcare signage is displayed on an office building in Phoenix, Arizona, on July 19, 2023.
Patrick T. Fallon | AFP | Getty Images
UnitedHealthcare on Thursday tapped company veteran Tim Noel as its new CEO after his ex's targeted assassination of CEO Brian Thompson in Manhattan in December.
Noel was the head of Medicare and retirement at UnitedHealthcare, the largest private health insurer in the U.S. It is the insurance arm of UnitedHealth Groupthe country's largest healthcare conglomerate based on revenue and its market capitalization of more than $480 billion.
Noel, who first joined the company in 2007, “brings unparalleled experience to this role with a proven track record and a strong commitment to improving how healthcare works for consumers, doctors, employers, governments and our other partners.” “UnitedHealth Group said in a statement.
The company is still reeling from Thompson's murder, which unleashed a torrent of pent-up anger and resentment toward the insurance industry, renewed calls for reform and reignited a debate over health care in the United States.
Amid concerns about physical security, companies across the industry have tightened security for their executives and removed their photos and much of their personal information from their websites. That includes UnitedHealth Group, which appears to have no executive leadership page.
Luigi Mangione, who was charged in the fatal shooting of Thompson, is currently detained without Bond in Brooklyn, New York. Mangione, 26, faces charges including murder and terrorism, to which he has pleaded not guilty.
Noel oversaw a portion of UnitedHealthcare's business that includes Medicare Advantage plans, which have been the source of skyrocketing costs for insurers.
Medicare Advantage, a privately managed health insurance plan contracted by Medicare, has long been a key source of growth and profits for the insurance industry. But medical costs for Medicare advantage patients have jumped over the past year as more seniors return to hospitals for procedures they had delayed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
UnitedHealthcare's Medicare and Retirement Unit serves one-fifth of Medicare beneficiaries, or nearly 13.7 million patients, according to a company fact sheet.
UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty said on an earnings call last week that the profit-driven U.S. healthcare system “needs to work better” and be “less confusing, less complex and less expensive.”
Witty said system members benefit from high prices, noting that lower prices and improved services can be good for customers and patients, but can “threaten revenue streams for organizations that depend on charging more.” for attention”. However, Witty did not address the extent to which UnitedHealth Group benefits from that model.
In its first quarterly results since the killing, UnitedHealth Group reported fourth-quarter revenue that missed Wall Street expectations due to weakness in its insurance business.
The company's 2024 revenue rose 8% to $400.3 billion, and it expects revenue to rise again this year to a range of $450 billion to $455 billion.
– CNBC's Bertha Coombs contributed to this report.
