A general view outside UnitedHealth Group’s United Healthcare corporate headquarters in … [+]
UnitedHealth Group on Thursday announced that veteran in-house executive Tim Noel will become chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare, succeeding the late Brian Thompson as CEO of the nation’s largest health insurance company.
“Tim joined UnitedHealth Group in 2007 and most recently served as executive director of UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement,” UnitedHealth Group announced in a brief statement released Thursday afternoon. “He brings unparalleled experience to this role with a proven track record and strong commitment to improving the way healthcare works for consumers, physicians, employers, governments and our other partners.”
UnitedHealth would not release any additional information about Noel. The company, along with most other rival health insurers, has remained largely dark since Thompson’s death with few press releases as the companies — including UnitedHealth — have removed executive photos, biographies and other information from their sites. of the internet. Health insurers have also increased security for their executive teams.
Aside from last week’s 2024 fourth-quarter and annual earnings, it’s the first major public announcement since Thompson’s death on Dec. 4. His death sparked a barrage of scrutiny over health insurers’ denials of medical care and some other business practices from social media trolls and industry critics, including some in Congress who say they would like to see reforms.
Thompson was among several executives who led UnitedHealth Group businesses with the title of CEO. UnitedHealth includes the health insurance company UnitedHealthcare that included Thompson as well as the medical care services business Optum and its many subsidiaries including OptumRx, one of the largest pharmacy benefit managers in the country.
Noel’s election comes at a critical time for UnitedHealthcare. The company, like other health insurers last year, faced rising medical costs in its health plans. So UnitedHealth’s earnings report last week showed the company is spending more on medical care as the company’s annual medical care ratio, or MCR, which is the percentage of premium revenue that goes toward medical costs, rose dramatically. . “The medical care ratio for the full year was 85.5% compared to 83.2% in 2023,” the company said last week.
Health insurance company profits began to rise not long after the coronavirus hit the US in 2020 because people weren’t seeking care amid lockdowns, office closings and doctor appointment windows that were limited. When people don’t go to the doctor, a claim isn’t filed with the health plan, so the insurance company makes more money.
UnitedHealth’s net income for 2024 was the lowest annual income in five years. The company reported net income of $22.3 billion last year, had net income of $20.6 billion in 2022, after making $17.3 billion in 2021 and $15.4 billion in 2020. Before the pandemic UnitedHealth reached $13.8 billion in 2019.
At UnitedHealthcare, full-year revenue rose 6% to $298.2 billion as the company grew its customers served in its “domestic business benefits” to grow by 2.4 million in 2024. UnitedHealthcare offers health benefits to more than 50 million people.
During a call last week with analysts and investors following UnitedHealth’s earnings release, UnitedHealth Chief Executive Andrew Witty said the U.S. health care system “has to work better” and that his company’s mission was “to help people live healthier lives”.
Witty also praised Thompson.
“You knew how much he meant to all of us and how dedicated he was to helping make the health care system work better for all the people we are privileged to serve,” Witty said of Thompson. “He would dive with passion and care into finding solutions to improve experiences whether for an individual consumer, employer or public agency. Right now, there are 400,000 nurses, doctors, case workers, customer service specialists, pharmacists, technologists and many others in this organization who share that commitment and are determined to move that work forward.”