UnitedHealth names CEO to replace slain Thompson

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US health insurance giant UnitedHealth Group has appointed company veteran Tim Noel as chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, after the unit's former CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in New York on 4th December.

Noel has been with UnitedHealth since 2007, rising through the ranks to become head of the Medicare & Retirement division at the company, which is the largest private health insurer in the US and also the largest provider of Medicare Advantage coverage handling almost a third of plans in 2024.

The company said he "brings unparalleled experience to this role, with a proven track record and strong commitment to improving how healthcare works for consumers, physicians, employers, governments, and [...] other partners."

Noel takes the helm of a company that has just reported revenues of $400 billion in 2024, up 8% on the prior year, with UnitedHealthcare contributing $298 billion of that total.

The company has been thrust into the media spotlight by the killing of Thompson as he walked to UnitedHeath's annual investor conference, allegedly by 26-year-old Luigi Mangione, who was arrested after a five-day manhunt and has now been charged with first-degree murder and other offences.

The murder has sparked a furious debate in the US about the business practices of the US private healthcare insurance industry, with social media awash with accusations of UnitedHealthcare denying coverage of necessary medical procedures. Law enforcement has suggested there is no evidence that Mangione was a UnitedHealthcare customer.

A recent poll by USA Today and Suffolk University, reported by Newsweek, found that nearly 30% of registered voters acknowledged that Thompson's murder was wrong, but that they also understood the alleged anger at the insurer.

UnitedHealth CEO Sir Andrew Witty – who previously led GSK, but stepped down in 2017 – defended the company on a call with analysts at its fourth-quarter results presentation, but also said that the US health system "needs to function better."

Witty talked about the "strong merits" of the US system in delivering tailored care for patients, but added that it "needs to be less confusing, less complex, and less costly. Some of this work we can do on our own, and we're doing it, but we're encouraged also by industry and policymaker interest in solving for this particular friction across the whole system."

That included passing 100% of the savings it wins during drug price negotiations to customers, up from the current 98%, he said. The ongoing task of making the health insurance process easier to navigate will now lie with Noel.