UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty steps down amid soaring costs, company withdraws 2025 forecast

UnitedHealth Group announced Tuesday that CEO Andrew Witty is stepping down for personal reasons as the company grapples with unexpectedly high medical costs and withdraws its full-year financial outlook for 2025.Chairman Stephen Hemsley will return as CEO, effective immediately. Hemsley, who previously served in the role from 2006 to 2017, will continue as chairman of the company’s board. Witty, 60, will remain with the company as a senior adviser, as per news agency AP.UnitedHealth’s decision comes during a turbulent time for the healthcare giant, which has faced growing scrutiny and financial headwinds in recent months. In December, executive Brian Thompson was killed outside a New York City hotel. While the incident was not tied to the company’s financial operations, it sent shockwaves through the corporate world and was followed by a dramatic decline in UnitedHealth shares.“I’m deeply disappointed in and apologize for the performance setbacks we have encountered from both external and internal challenges,” Hemsley said during an early Tuesday conference call. “Many of the issues standing in the way of achieving our goals as well as our opportunities are largely within our control. I am optimistic about our future as these issues are within our capacity to resolve. We will approach them with humility, rigor and urgency.”Witty joined UnitedHealth in 2018 after a nearly decade-long tenure as CEO of British pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline. He took over the helm of UnitedHealth in February 2021, succeeding Dave Wichmann.Under Witty’s leadership, UnitedHealth experienced significant growth. The company’s revenue soared to more than $400 billion last year, a 55% jump from the $257 billion it posted the year before he became CEO. Its stock price also surged during that period, rising 60.5%.However, the last several months have marked a period of considerable challenge. UnitedHealth cut its financial forecast last month following its first quarterly earnings miss in over a decade. On Tuesday, the company withdrew its full-year guidance entirely, citing higher-than-expected medical expenses tied to newly enrolled Medicare Advantage members.The backdrop of rising costs and public scrutiny has added to investor unease. The ongoing high-profile case surrounding Luigi Mangione, who was indicted last month on federal murder charges in the death of Thompson, has stirred national attention and contributed to a broader wave of criticism toward health insurers.Shares of UnitedHealth have fallen sharply—down 38% since Thompson’s killing on December 4—plunging more than 16% on Tuesday to their lowest levels in nearly five years.UnitedHealth Group Inc. serves more than 50 million Americans through its various health insurance offerings. In addition to its core insurance operations, it runs a major pharmacy benefit manager and its Optum division, which provides healthcare services and technical infrastructure.The company is also the nation’s largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, with over 8 million enrollees in privately run versions of the government health program for seniors.