Following the passing of CEO Brian Thompson, UnitedHealth Group is facing additional controversy after his boss was shown in a leaked video.
UnitedHealthcare CEO Thompson was shot and died last week outside the Hilton hotel in Manhattan, New York.
Since then, Luigi Mangione, 26, has been apprehended as the culprit in the deadly gunshot and charged with murder; according to his lawyer, he will enter a not guilty plea.
Amid these developments, a new video has emerged featuring Sir Andrew Witty, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group and Thompson’s superior, expressing his frustration over social media users criticizing his industry.
In the video, he is heard lamenting about the negative comments from critics, describing them as “vitriolic” and “not in tune with reality.”
The remarks were originally made in a private video for staff, which has since been leaked and circulated online.
Journalist Ken Klippenstein shared a brief segment of the video on his Substack, and following a surge of attention, he later posted the full three-minute clip of Witty.
In the video, Witty states, “we guard against the pressures that exist for unsafe care or unnecessary care.”
United CEO Andrew Witty gave an address to the company today (video leaked to me). Some highlights:
– “we guard against the pressures that exist for unsafe care or for unnecessary care.”
– “There are very few people in the history of the US healthcare industry who had a bigger… pic.twitter.com/7ihMkHAcia— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) December 6, 2024
He also spoke highly of his late colleague, stating, “There are very few people in the history of the US healthcare industry who had a bigger positive effect on American healthcare than Brian [Thompson].”
He went on to say, “The health system needs a company like United Health Group, and it needs people like Brian within it.”
One person on social media responded, “You know what’s unnecessary? Health insurance! Worst middleman of all time.”
Another commenter added, “This is just a fancy way of saying denying care ‘isn’t personal, it’s just business.'”
The video has been criticized as short-sighted: “To simply dismiss everything on social media as ‘critical noise’ reveals how out of touch and elitist he is. He thinks everybody outside of his leadership team are peons to be dismissed.”
“Corporations like this are the disease, not the symptom,” criticized another individual.
Some others raised questions about why Witty holds a title, although he was knighted in 2012 for his contributions to the UK economy.
The leaked video was followed by a memo that praised Thompson as “one of the good guys,” highlighting his “profoundly positive impact on the lives of so many people. People he never saw. People he never met. People who never knew him. But people Brian cared so deeply about.”
He went on to say, “He was certainly one of the smartest guys. I think he was one of the best guys.”