UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty told analysts that the company is positioned well for growth in 2025. This comes just a month after the CEO of its insurance unit was murdered.

UnitedHealth reported fourth-quarter results on Thursday that reflected persistent challenges for the health insurance sector.

In his first public remarks since the murder of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson last month and the backlash against the insurance industry it provoked, Witty said the healthcare conglomerate is looking for ways to simplify and accelerate its prior authorization processes. He did not offer specifics.

But high medical costs contributed to results that disappointed Wall Street, and the company’s stock fell on the news that it had made less than analysts expected.

Witty's comments came during the company's first earnings call since the killing of Brian Thompson, the CEO of the company's insurance arm UnitedHealthcare.

Jan. 16 at 1:45 p.m. ETUnitedHealth Group's Optum Rx unit made a commitment to pass through 100% of rebates negotiated with drugmakers to the client. | UnitedHealth Group reported $5.5 billion in profit for the fourth quarter of 2024,

Sarah James; Analyst; Cantor Fitzgerald Joanna Gajuk; Analyst; BofA Global Research

The CEO of UnitedHealth Group said Thursday that shortcomings of America’s health care system must be addressed.

UnitedHealth Group (UNH) , the largest health insurance provider in the U.S., ended 2024 on a devastating note. The company, which owns UnitedHealthcare and Optum, has been embroiled in massive controversy after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in front of a Hilton hotel in midtown Manhattan last month.

Pharmacy benefit managers actually "play a vital role in holding" sometimes-inflated prices down, said UHG CEO Andrew Witty in an earnings call.

In the first public appearance since Brian Thompson's slaying in early December, UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty addressed the public's discontent, skirting responsibility and blaming drug companies and hospitals for the health care system's failures.