UnitedHealth Group CEO argues for well being care reform in opinion piece

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty wrote an opinion piece calling for well being care reform after his colleague, UnitedHealthcare CEO. Brian Thompsonwas murdered final week in a focused assault whereas on his approach to the corporate’s annual investor day in New York.

Witty’s visitor essay was printed Friday in The New York Timesand he wrote that whereas he and his colleagues recognize the “outpouring of help for Brian,” who led UnitedHealth Group’s insurance coverage division, they “additionally battle to make sense of this unconscionable act and the vitriol that has was directed at our colleagues who had been bombarded with threats.

“No worker – whether or not those that reply buyer calls or nurses who go to sufferers of their houses – ought to need to worry for his or her security or the security of their family members,” Witty wrote, including that the corporate needs to assist enhance safety. health system.

“We all know that the well being care system isn’t working in addition to it ought to, and we perceive individuals’s frustrations with it. Nobody would design a system just like the one we now have. And nobody has. C “It is a patchwork constructed over a long time,” Witty defined. . “We’re able to collaborate with anybody, as we all the time have – well being care suppliers, employers, sufferers, pharmaceutical firms, governments and others – to search out methods to supply top quality care and cut back prices.”

LUIGI MANGIONE WAS NOT A MEMBER OF UNITEDHEALTHCARE, MAY HAVE TARGETED COMPANY BECAUSE OF ITS SIZE AND INFLUENCE: NYPD

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty mentioned the corporate needs to proceed pushing for well being care enhancements in reminiscence of slain govt Brian Thompson. (Al Drago/Bloomberg by way of Getty Photographs / Getty Photographs)

Witty mentioned “the explanations behind protection selections usually are not effectively understood” and that a number of the accountability is shared by well being care and insurance coverage firms just like the one he leads. He mentioned employers, governments and everybody who funds well being care “want to enhance the way in which we clarify what insurance covers and the way selections are made.

“Behind each determination is a complete, frequently up to date physique of medical proof geared toward reaching the very best well being outcomes and making certain affected person security,” Witty wrote. “Despite the fact that the well being care system isn’t good, each nook is stuffed with individuals attempting to do their finest for these they serve.”

“WANTED” POSTERS FOR HEALTH CARE OFFICIALS SURFACE IN NEW YORK

UnitedHealthcare is the insurance coverage enterprise of UnitedHealth Group. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Photographs/Getty Photographs)

THE CEO of UnitedHealth Group famous that Thompson has advocated for tactics to enhance the well being care system, corresponding to asking the corporate to “construct devoted groups to assist the sickest individuals navigate the well being care system.” He additionally mentioned Thompson “advocates for plans wherein shoppers can know prices and protection choices prematurely, to allow them to determine what’s finest for themselves and their households.”

“The concepts he advocated aimed to make well being care extra reasonably priced, extra clear, extra intuitive, extra compassionate and extra humane,” Witty wrote. “That is Brian’s legacy, one that we are going to carry ahead as we proceed our work to make the well being care system work higher for everybody.”

CEO PARTNER BRIAN THOMPSON’S NEIGHBOR TALKS ABOUT FEAR OF VIOLENCE AFTER SHOOTING: “WE’RE ALL CONCERNED”

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in New York on December 4. (FOX 5 New York/WNYW | UnitedHealth/Fox Information)

Witty’s op-ed comes after Thompson was killed in a shooting en path to the corporate’s investor day in Manhattan on December 4.

The homicide suspect, Luigi Mangionewas arrested in Pennsylvania following a manhunt and expressed his animosity towards the well being care business in writings found throughout his arrest.

GET FOX BUSINESS ON THE GO BY CLICKING HERE

New York police and UnitedHealthcare confirmed Thursday that Mangione was not a buyer of the insurance coverage firm. The NYPD mentioned it may have focused the corporate due to its dimension and affect throughout the business.

The corporate’s shares are down 4% this week after falling practically 10% the week of the capturing.