UHG finance chief John Rex named president
Rex replaces outgoing president Dirk McMahon and will continue his CFO duties in his new role.
John Rex has been named president of UnitedHealth Group.
Photo courtesy of UnitedHealth Group
John Rex, chief financial officer for UnitedHealthGroup, has been named the organization's new president, and succeeded former president Dirk McMahon, effective Monday.
UHG announced the leadership move on its website and in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, which also mentioned that Rex will continue his CFO duties as he settles into the new role.
McMahon was also UHG's chief operating officer, and that position has yet to be filled.
WHAT'S THE IMPACT?
Rex has been in the CFO role since 2016, and according to UHG, is responsible for an expansive operating, growth and finance portfolio, which includes oversight of the enterprise's technology and digital strategies, treasury, mergers and acquisitions, and venture and private equity investment activity.
He joined Optum, UHG's health services business, as CFO and executive vice president in 2012. Prior to joining UHG, Rex was an equity research analyst, a strategy and operational consultant and a certified public accountant across healthcare sectors. He earned a master's degree from the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business.
The move comes at a hectic time for UHG, which is still struggling with the aftermath of a cyberattack that hit Change Healthcare, its claims processing division, last month. UHG has said that restorations are still underway, with some disruptions expected throughout the remainder of this month.
THE LARGER TREND
UnitedHealth Group closed out the final quarter of 2023 with $5.5 billion in profit, an increase from the $4.8 billion it posted in Q4 of 2022, the company revealed in its January earnings report.
At the same time, UHG logged $94.4 billion in revenue during the quarter, up from $82.8 billion in Q4 2022. For the full year of 2023, UHG recorded $371.6 billion in revenue and $22.4 billion in profit – both increases over the $324.2 billion in revenue and $20.1 billion in profit it posted in 2022.
In February the Department of Justice launched an antitrust investigation into UnitedHealth Group, with investigators asking questions about the effect of Optum Health's physician group acquisitions on rivals and consumers. Investigators have also asked whether UnitedHealthcare favored Optum-owned groups in its contracting practices and whether Optum's ownership of providers presents challenges to health insurers that are rivals to UnitedHealthcare.
Jeff Lagasse is editor of Healthcare Finance News.
Email: jlagasse@himss.org
Healthcare Finance News is a HIMSS Media publication.
