UnitedHealth CEO Reacts to Thompson’s Death, Acknowledges ‘Flawed’ US Health Care

UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty on Capitol Hill in Washington on May 1, 2024. Kent Nishimura/Getty Images

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty has issued an emotional tribute to Brian Thompson, the head of the group’s insurance arm, UnitedHealthcare, following Thompson’s death at the hands of a gunman.

Thompson, a key figure in the U.S. health insurance industry, was fatally shot in an incident Witty described in an op-ed published on Dec. 13 as an “unconscionable act” that has left Thompson’s family, friends, and colleagues grappling with profound grief.

“As Brian Thompson’s family, friends and colleagues mourn his killing, we are bearing a grief and sadness we will carry for the rest of our lives,” Witty wrote. “Grief for the family he leaves behind. And grief for a brilliant, kind man who was working to make health care better for everyone.”

Witty expressed appreciation for the outpouring of support for Thompson while decrying what he said was company employees facing threats to their lives and being subjected to online vitriol in the wake of Thompson’s murder.

“No employees—be they the people who answer customer calls or nurses who visit patients in their homes — should have to fear for their and their loved ones’ safety,” he wrote.

Thompson’s killing has brought renewed attention to the U.S. health care system, with some people taking to social media to vent their frustrations over negative experiences they have had in this regard. Some have even praised Luigi Mangione, the man accused of murdering Thompson, with his attorney saying he’s received offers to cover Mangione’s legal bills as a show of support.

UnitedHealthcare chief executive officer Brian Thompson. UnitedHealth Group via AP

Witty said he understood people’s frustration with the health care system in the United States, which he said is “flawed” and “does not work as well as it should.”

“No one would design a system like the one we have. And no one did. It’s a patchwork built over decades,” he wrote, adding that UnitedHealth Group’s “mission is to help make it work better.”

“We are willing to partner with anyone, as we always have—health care providers, employers, patients, pharmaceutical companies, governments and others—to find ways to deliver high-quality care and lower costs,” Witty added.

Witty’s op-ed marks his first public comments since Thompson’s slaying. UnitedHealthcare, which Thompson led, was the largest private insurer in the United States.

The logo of UnitedHealthcare in Cypress, Calif., on April 13, 2016. Mike Blake/Reuters

Mangione, who investigators say was a critic of the health care industry, is accused of fatally shooting Thompson outside a hotel in Manhattan as the CEO was walking to a conference.

Police arrested Mangione on Dec. 9 in Pennsylvania, where he is being held without bail, pending extradition to New York. He has been charged with murder and other crimes, including forgery and carrying a firearm without a license.

By all accounts, Mangione was a well-educated, smart, and physically fit young man who came from a wealthy Maryland family. The motives behind the crime allegedly committed by Mangione remain unclear. However, investigators and acquaintances have suggested his back injury and related medical care may have been contributing factors, with a public post showing his spine X-ray with screws, though no direct link has been confirmed.

Criminal justice expert Steve Meacham highlighted the case as an example of the unpredictable nature of alleged criminal behavior.

Preliminary information indicates that Mangione probably “has an ax to grind and retaliated in anger,” Meacham told The Epoch Times.

Suspect Luigi Mangione is taken into the Blair County Courthouse on Tuesday, Dec. 10, 2024, in Hollidaysburg, Pa. Benjamin B. Braun/Pittsburgh Post-Gazette via AP

Janice Hisle and Nathan Worcester contributed to this report.