Andrew Witty on defense over claim denials, Medicare Advantage

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty during a congressional hearing earlier this year.

Photo: HFN screenshot

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty has been playing defense over the backlash of consumer complaints against the health insurance industry and most recently, around The Wall Street Journal's reporting on Medicare Advantage plans.

Since the fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare executive Brian Thompson on December 4, social media posts about claim denials and prior authorizations that have delayed surgery appear to support the manifesto found on alleged killer Luigi Mangione, 26, against corporate America and its profits. Mangione is charged with first degree murder of Thompson, who headed the country's largest health insurer.

While not specifically mentioning Thompson or UnitedHealthcare, Mangione's entry in his notebook for October 22 said "the target is insurance" because "it checks every box," according to the federal complaint reported by ABC News.

Throughout, Witty has sought to clarify the insurer's practices, first in an op-ed published December 13 in The New York Times.

"We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people's frustrations with it," Witty wrote. "No one would design a system like the one we have. And no one did. It's a patchwork built over decades. Our mission is to help make it work better," Witty wrote under the headline "The Health Care System Is Flawed. Let's Fix It."

UnitedHealth Group has clarified that Mangione did not have UnitedHealthcare as his health insurance.

"Regarding the murder of Brian Thompson, we are re-affirming that the killer and his parents were not UnitedHealthcare members," UnitedHealth Group said in a Dec. 13 post on its website. 

In the same Dec. 13 post, the company responded to what it called misinformation by issuing an update on claim-approval rates.

UnitedHealthcare approves and pays about 90% of medical claims upon submission, the post said. 

"Importantly, of those that require further review, around one-half of one percent are due to medical or clinical reasons. Highly inaccurate and grossly misleading information has been circulated about our company's treatment of insurance claims," UnitedHealth Group said. 

Foremost has been Witty's defense of Medicare Advantage plans.

On Dec. 30, through the company's website, Witty responded to what he called "misleading" articles published in The Wall Street Journal around Medicare Advantage plans.

"In a series of misleading articles, the Wall Street Journal has waged a one-sided, biased attack on Medicare Advantage (MA) – a program millions of seniors rely on for healthcare," Witty said. "The narratives woven through the articles rely on often incomplete and inaccurate data to conduct flawed studies through a murky government 'agreement,'  and clearly demonstrate that the Journal does not understand the Medicare Advantage program, how it is designed to function or why it differs from the traditional fee-for-service program which emphasizes volume over quality and patient outcomes." 

To staff, Witty has said their work is valued, The Wall Street Journal reported.

"Right now, people continue to have strong feelings inside the organization, maybe nervous, maybe anxious, maybe worried about security," Witty reportedly said in a video sent to employees on December 23, the WSJ said.

In recent weeks, some employees have received emailed threats, the report said, adding that the company has told staffers to remain at home if they don't feel safe. A person familiar with the UnitedHealth reportedly told the WSJ that armed guards now patrol its headquarters in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

Through the same video, Witty also reportedly said he anticipates hitting financial records by year's end.

Email the writer: SMorse@himss.org