UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty has stepped down due to unspecified “personal reasons,” according to a company statement. In his place, Stephen J. Hemsley, who served as chief executive from 2006 to 2017, will return to the role and remain board chairman.
This comes amidst UnitedHealth’s misfortunes as its shares fell more than 17% on Tuesday, closing at $311.38 a share, well off its recent high of $630.73 in November. The company has been in the public eye of late following widespread criticism of the health insurance industry’s practices.
Due to the slump in its share price, the company also said that it has suspended its annual outlook for 2025, to include “more types of benefit offerings than seen in the first quarter” and because “the medical costs of many Medicare Advantage beneficiaries new to UnitedHealthcare remained higher than expected.”
The company has been going through a rough patch over the past six months as in December, its health insurance arm, United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in what police described as a “premeditated, preplanned targeted attack” in midtown Manhattan as he was walking to an investors’ conference by Luigi Mangione. There was also a cyberattack at its tech unit that affected some 190 million people.
Stephen Hemsley, 72 would now seek to restore the company to good health following months of intense turmoil.
