50 things to know about UnitedHealth Group

UnitedHealth Group is the largest insurer in the United States by membership and the largest employer of physicians in the country. 

Here’s 50 things to know about the healthcare giant: 

Editor’s note: This story was originally published in June 2023 and last updated May 16, 2025. 

History 

1. The company was founded by physicians and other healthcare professionals in Minnetonka, Minn., in 1974 under the name Charter Med Corp.

2. The company traces its roots to Paul Ellwood, MD, the physician who coined the term “health maintenance organization.” Richard Burke, who founded Charter Med, was a researcher at Dr. Ellwood’s Minneapolis-based think tank.

3. Three years later, UnitedHealthcare was created and became the parent company of Charter Med.

4. UnitedHealthcare became a public company in 1984.

5. The company rebranded as UnitedHealth Group in 1998.

6. UnitedHealth Group acquired several health insurers and practices through the 1990s and 2000s. Notable acquisitions include MetraHealth, the healthcare operations of Travelers Insurance and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company in 1995; Medicaid managed care company AmeriChoice in 2002; PacifiCare Health Systems in 2005; and Sierra Health Services in 2007.

7. UnitedHealth Group created Optum, its health services arm, in 2011.

Fast facts 

8. UnitedHealth Group is ranked No. 4 on the Fortune 500, behind Walmart, Amazon and Apple and ahead of CVS Health. It is the largest healthcare company on the list.

9. The company employs 440,000 people worldwide.

10. UnitedHealth Group is headquartered in Minnetonka, Minn.

11. In 2024, around 54% of the company’s revenue came from UnitedHealthcare, with the remainder from Optum.

12. UnitedHealth Group netted $24.2 billion in earnings in 2024, an 8% increase year over year.

13.  UnitedHealth Group has suspended its earnings guidance for 2025. The company previously said it expected to earn up to $455 billion in revenue in 2025.

Recent headlines 

14. UnitedHealth Group is under criminal investigation by the Justice Department for alleged Medicare Advantage fraud, according to the The Wall Street Journal. Citing individuals familiar with the matter, the outlet said the DOJ has been investigating the company since at least summer 2024 over its MA business practices, but exact criminal allegations are unclear. UnitedHealth called the WSJ’s report “deeply irresponsible” and said it stands by the integrity of its MA program.

15. In May, former UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty stepped down for personal reasons. The company appointed Stephen Hemsley, CEO of UnitedHealth Group from 2006 to 2017, to the top job. Mr. Witty remains a strategic advisor to the company.

16. An investor filed a proposed class action lawsuit against UnitedHealth Group, Mr. Witty, and CFO John Rex, alleging that the company misled investors about its corporate strategy in the aftermath of the December killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

17. In April, a federal judge dismissed an antitrust lawsuit against UnitedHealthcare and MultiPlan. The lawsuit from Long Island Anesthesiologists alleged the two companies conspired to lower rates by more than 80% after the federal No Surprises Act took effect in 2022. 

18. UnitedHealthcare sent buyout offers to employees who chose to leave their jobs by March 3. The company did not confirm how many employees were offered buyouts, but some employees on social media said as many as 30,000 received the offer. 

19. In February, 17 HCA hospitals sued UnitedHealthcare, alleging the company reimbursed them at rates below the amount required by law. 

20. On Dec. 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was fatally shot in New York City, in what police called a “a brazen and targeted attack.” Luigi Mangione, the 27-year-old man accused in the shooting, has pleaded not guilty. The Justice Department has directed federal prosecutors to pursue the death penalty in the case. 

21. In November, UnitedHealthcare prevailed in its lawsuit challenging its Medicare Advantage star ratings from CMS. The insurer alleged its ratings were downgraded over “a single phone call.” The agency upgraded the star ratings of 12 of UnitedHealthcare’s contracts.

22. The Justice Department is suing UnitedHealth Group and home health company Amedisys over the companies’ planned $3.3 billion merger. The lawsuit claims the purchase could increase home health prices in 23 states. Optum first announced plans to merge with Amedisys in June 2023, and has offered to divest at least 128 home health and hospice facilities to address competitive concerns. 

23. UnitedHealthcare launched a prior authorization gold-card program in October. The program allows providers with a prior authorization approval rate of 92% or more to be exempted from some prior authorization requirements. 

24. UnitedHealth Group is the subject of an antitrust investigation by the Justice Department, The Wall Street Journal reported in February 2024. Justice Department investigators interviewed healthcare industry representatives in UnitedHealth competition sectors, including physician groups, the publication reported. Investigator questions during the interviews have included specific relationships between UnitedHealthcare and Optum, according to the Wall Street Journal.

25. UnitedHealth Group’s chairman and three of its executives sold a combined $101. 5 million in stock before the public became aware of the antitrust investigation, according to reporting from Bloomberg. Neither UnitedHealth Group nor the Justice Department have commented on the investigation. According to Bloomberg, the stock sales occurred between Oct. 16, the week after UnitedHealth reportedly received notice of the Justice Department’s investigation, and Feb. 26, the day the Wall Street Journal and other outlets reported on the investigation. A spokesperson for UnitedHealth told Bloomberg the executives followed protocols and received approval from the company for the trades. 

26. In July, shareholders sued UnitedHealth Group, alleging the company failed to disclose the antitrust investigation. The lawsuit alleged UnitedHealth Group chair Stephen Hemsley, and former UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson sold substantial amounts of stock while in possession of “material non-public information.”

27. Optum’s Change Healthcare was hacked by a ransomware gang, the company confirmed in February. Ransomware group ALPHV/Blackcat, aka BlackCat, claimed responsibility for the hack and is purported to have stolen 6 terabytes of data. The outage created major disruptions for pharmacies, hospitals and insurers nationwide. The breach exposed the data of 100 million people.

28. UnitedHealth group paid a ransom to the cybercriminal group involved in the attack. The company did not disclose how much it paid, but the cybercriminal group received $22 million in bitcoin, according to a report from Reuters. UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty testified before Congress in May, where he said the decision to pay the ransom was his.

29. Change Healthcare was hit with a bevy of class-action lawsuits over the cyber attacks. Attorneys for the UnitedHealth Group subsidiary are set to meet with a federal judge to discuss a possible settlement to the lawsuits in January 2025. The settlement could set a record for healthcare.

30. UnitedHealth Group and UnitedHealthcare are facing a proposed class-action lawsuit alleging an AI algorithm used by the companies wrongfully denied care to Medicare Advantage patients. The families of two deceased UnitedHealthcare MA members alleged their relatives were wrongfully denied coverage of medically necessary post-acute care. NaviHealth, the developer of the algorithm, is also named in the suit. In February 2025, a judge allowed the suit to move forward. 

Leadership

31. Stephen Hemsley is CEO of UnitedHealth Group. He previously led the company from 2006 to 2017, overseeing a period of rapid growth at UnitedHealth Group, including the creation of Optum. He chaired the company’s board of directors from 2017 to 2025.

32. Mr. Hemsley will earn an annual salary of $1 million. He will not be paid any annual cash incentives, but will receive a one-time, $60 million equity award after three years of employment.

33. The CEO-to-median-employee pay ratio at UnitedHealth Group in 2023 was 352-to-1.

34. John Rex is CFO of UnitedHealth Group, a role he has held since 2016.

35. Mr. Rex was paid $16.1 million in total compensation in 2023.

36. Tim Noel was named CEO of UnitedHealthcare in January 2025. 

UnitedHealthcare 

37. UnitedHealthcare had 50.7 million medical insurance members at the end of the third quarter of 2024.

38.  The company was the largest commercial payer by total membership as of the end of 2023.

39. UnitedHealthcare has the largest share of Medicare Advantage membership, with around 1 in 4 MA beneficiaries enrolled in a UnitedHealthcare plan in 2022, according to KFF.

40. UnitedHealthcare had 7.8 million Medicare Advantage members at the end of 2024.

41. UnitedHealthcare had 29.7 million commercial members in the U.S. at the end of 2024.

42. The company had 7.4 million Medicaid members at the end of 2024. 

Optum 

43. Optum is made up of three core divisions: Optum Health, Optum Insight and Optum Rx.

44. Optum is the largest employer of physicians in the United States, with at least 90,000 employed or aligned physicians at 2,200 locations in 2023.

45. Optum Health served 100 million customers in the fourth quarter of 2024. 

46. Optum Rx filled 422 million prescriptions in the third quarter of 2024.

47. Optum Health served 4.7 million patients through value-based care in 2024. 

48. Optum is headquartered in Eden Prairie, Minn.

49. Patrick Conway, MD is president and CEO of Optum. He was previously CEO of Optum Rx. He replaced former Optum CEO, Heather Cianfrocco, who was named UnitedHealth’s executive vice president of governance, compliance and information security

50. Three leaders head each of Optum’s divisions: Jon Mahrt is CEO of Optum Rx, Optum Health is led by Amar Desai, MD, and Optum Insight is led by Dhivya Suryadevara.