thedailybeast | UnitedHealth Group’s CEO slammed health insurance
industry critics on social media as “vitriolic” and “not in tune with
reality” as it is battered by anger in the wake of insurance CEO Brian
Thompson’s murder.
Andrew Witty, Thompson’s
boss, did not make the comments to the public but in a private video to
company staff. He has not spoken publicly since the assassination-style
murder outside a Manhattan hotel early Wednesday morning.
Independent journalist Ken Klippenstein initially posted a shortened clip of Witty’s comments to his Substack amid an avalanche of people attacking the health insurance industry on social platforms. He followed up with the full almost three-minute long address Witty gave to staff at UnitedHealth.
Witty,
clearly reading from a script and dressed casually, defended his
industry against accusations it refuses people vital coverage saying “we
guard against the pressures that exist for unsafe care or unnecessary
care.”
His extended complaint started by claiming the
company puts “patients, consumers and members first, as we always have
done,” claiming its mission was to improve their experience–and that
Thompson left a legacy of doing that.
“I have
never been more proud of this company and our colleagues and what this
company does on behalf of people in need across this country,” he said.
He
urged them to “tune out that critical noise that we’re hearing right
now,” adding, “It does not reflect reality. It is simply a sign of an
era in which we live.
“What we must know is
focus on what we know to be true. And what we know to be true is that we
need a company like UnitedHealth Group and it needs people like Brian
within it.”
Witty, a British former pharma
executive who is known as Sir Andrew Witty in the UK after being given a
knighthood by the late Queen Elizabeth, is facing a Department of
Justice probe into insider trading allegations. His last fully
calculated compensation package in 2023 was $25 million. The company
denies wrongdoing.
“I’d like to give you a
little bit of advice around the media,” said Witty. “My strong advice
and request to everybody is just don’t engage with the media. If you’re
approached, I would recommend not responding and, if necessary, simply
refer them to our own media organization.”
Witty
added, “You’ve seen a lot of media interest in this situation with a
huge amount of misinformation and frankly offensive communication,”
calling the coverage “aggressive, inappropriate and disrespectful.”
Representatives
for UnitedHealth Group and its health insurance division,
UnitedHealthcare—which Thompson led—did not immediately respond to a
Daily Beast request for comment on the leaked video.
On
the heels of Thompson’s death and the ensuing hunt for his assassin,
the company removed his bio from a page that once listed UnitedHealth’s
leadership. Now it goes to a broken link.
Thompson
was shot dead outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown Manhattan on
Wednesday. He was due to address an investors’ conference for his
company, which is one of the largest health insurers in the world. The
killer, who experts have suggested is not a professional hitman, fled on
an electric bike and remains at large.