UnitedHealth Group CEO: Healthcare has to 'function better'

UnitedHealth Group's CEO, Andrew Witty, said the company is committed to reducing prior authorizations and improving customer satisfaction on the company's first investor call since the murder of UnitedHealthcare's previous CEO, Brian Thompson. 

On a Jan. 16 call, Mr. Witty told investors the healthcare system "needs to function better." 

"Healthcare in every country is complex, and the solutions are not simple, but you should expect this company to continue to work at it, finding what is needed, developing solutions, bringing those solutions to scale and making a positive impact on the lives of millions of people," Mr. Witty said. 

The murder of Mr. Thompson sparked backlash against UnitedHealth Group and other insurers, often over decisions payers made. 

In his remarks to investors, Mr. Witty said UnitedHealth, the nation's largest insurer, is working to make coverage and costs easier to understand, including by investing in technology to speed up approvals for Medicare Advantage patients and reducing the number of prior authorizations it requires in MA. 

Some of the work to speed up claims can be done by UnitedHealth Group alone, but some requires the industry and policymakers to come together. Mr. Witty said the company is "encouraged" by efforts from the healthcare industry and regulators to address prior authorization. 

Ultimately, reform will come at the system level, Mr. Witty said. 

"The core fact is that price, more than utilization, drives system costs higher. Tackling that problem will require all parts of the system, and policymakers, to come together," he said. 

When asked if customer dissatisfaction could hurt the company's long-term outlook, Mr. Witty said the company recognizes "there's still a lot of work to be done" to simplify claims and other processes. 

In January, a group of activist investors asked the company to study how claim denials could hurt the company's reputation and affect public health. 

Mr. Witty said that less than 1% of claims are ultimately rejected for a clinical reason, but other claims are held up before being approved. Standardization across the healthcare industry and investments in technology can help speed this up, and the company is engaging with "heightened energy" to improve processes, he said. 

Mr. Thompson, who was named CEO of UnitedHealthcare in 2021, led much of the company's previous work to reduce prior authorizations, Mr. Witty said. 

"The company will continue to do that, but I want to emphasize the criticality of collaboration here to design something not just for one company, but all companies, not just for one patient, but all patients," Mr. Witty said. 

Mr. Thompson, 50, first joined Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealth Group in 2004 and held numerous leadership positions across the company. Before UnitedHealth, he held management roles at PricewaterhouseCoopers in Minnesota. He graduated with a bachelor's degree in business administration and accounting from the University of Iowa in 1997. 

"[Brian] devoted his time to help make the health system work better for all the people we are privileged to serve," Mr. Witty said. "He would dive in with passion and caring to find solutions and improve experiences, whether for an individual consumer, an employer or a public health agency." 

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