UnitedHealth Announces Replacement For Murdered Executive: Here's Who Will Lead Insurance Unit

UnitedHealth Group UNH confirmed a replacement to lead UnitedHealthcare, after the segment’s former chief executive was murdered in New York last month.

What Happened: UnitedHealth Group announced Thursday that Tim Noel will be CEO of the UnitedHealthcare business. The move comes shortly after the company's quarterly earnings report.

Noel joined UnitedHealth Group in 2007. He was most recently in charge of the company's Medicare and retirement business, as reported by Fierce Healthcare.

"He brings unparalleled experience to this role with a proven track record and strong commitment to improving how health care works for consumers, physicians, employers, governments and our other partners," UnitedHealth Group said of Noel in a statement.

UnitedHealthcare is the largest individual player in Medicare Advantage with 7.8 million members, the company's latest earnings report revealed. The company also has 4.3 million members enrolled in Medicare supplement plans through UnitedHealthcare. It also has 3 million people enrolled in standalone Part D coverage.

Read Also: UnitedHealth: The ‘Number One Company On Sale’ Ahead Of Q4 Earnings Report

Why It's Important: The health insurance company and sector have come under pressure after the death of UnitedHealth’s previous CEO, Brian Thompson.

Bullets found at the murder scene allegedly contained the words "deny," "defend" and "depose." A manifesto found on murder suspect Luigi Mangione linked the motive to targeting health insurance companies over caring more about profits over customers.

Thompson's death and the possible motive behind his killing have drawn scrutiny to the health insurance sector, including reports of high claim denial rates by companies like UnitedHealth Group.

UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty acknowledged the pressure on the health insurance sector during the company's earnings call. The industry needs to be "less confusing, less complex and less costly" for patients, he said.

The company's recent fourth-quarter financial results saw earnings per share beat consensus estimates and revenue of $100.8 billion miss Street estimates of $101.76 billion. UnitedHealth reaffirmed 2025 sales guidance of $450 billion to $455 billion, compared to a Street consensus of $448.13 billion.

Earnings per share guidance for 2025 is a range of $29.50 to $30.00, versus a Street consensus estimate of $29.83.

Mangione faces New York state charges along with federal charges. He also faces the potential of the death penalty if found guilty of first-degree murder on federal charges.

Mangione pleaded not guilty in New York on Dec. 23. He is expected to appear in federal court on Feb. 21.

Price Action: UnitedHealth was up 2% to $529.77 on the news of the announcement. Shares trade at $529.93 Friday versus a 52-week trading range of $436.38 to $630.73. The stock is up 3% over the last year.

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