UnitedHealth Group CEO Witty Is Out, Replaced By Former Boss Hemsley

In the latest shakeup at the nation’s largest health insurance company, UnitedHealth Group Tuesday said Andrew Witty is stepping down, citing “personal reasons,” and will be replaced by former longtime CEO Stephen J. Hemsley.

In a brief announcement, UnitedHealth Group said the 72-year-old Hemsley, who served as company CEO from 2006-2017, will also remain chairman of the company’s board of directors and Witty, who is 60, will serve as a senior adviser to Hemsley.” The return of Hemsley as CEO takes effect immediately, the company said.

The company also said it was suspending its financial outlook for the rest of the year as it grapples with rising healthcare costs in its Medicare Advantage business.

UnitedHealth, which owns the nation’s largest health insurance company in UnitedHealthcare, is also a nationwide provider of medical care services under the Optum umbrella, which includes Optum Rx, Optum Health and its various outpatient clinics, centers and doctor practices as well as other healthcare services.

It’s the latest change in the executive suite at UnitedHealth. Just two weeks ago, Dr. Patrick Conway was promoted, effective May 6, to become the chief executive officer of Optum, one of the nation’s largest providers of medical care. Conway had been chief executive of Optum Rx, the company’s pharmacy benefit management company.

The announcements come after a rare miss of Wall Street’s earnings projections when UnitedHealth last month said 2025 earnings would be lower than expected due to rising costs of caring for seniors in its Medicare plans.

But Hemsley Tuesday said UnitedHealth Group has “tremendous opportunities to grow as we continue to help improve health care and to perform to our potential — and, in so doing, return to our long-term growth objective of 13 to 16 percent.”

Hemsley joined UnitedHealth as chief operating officer in 1997 and became president in 1999. He became board chair in 2017.

“We are grateful for Andrew’s stewardship of UnitedHealth Group, especially during some of the most challenging times any company has ever faced,” Hemsley said. “The Board and I have greatly valued his leadership and compassion as chief executive and as a director and wish him and his family the best.”

For his part, Witty offered a one line statement. “Leading the people of UnitedHealth Group has been a tremendous honor as they work every day to improve the health system, and they will continue to inspire me,” Witty said.

In April, UnitedHealth lowered its “2025 performance outlook established in December 2024 to net earnings of $24.65 to $25.15 per share and adjusted earnings of $26 to $26.50 per share.” That compares to a forecast affirmed in January that said net earnings would be “$28.15 to $28.65 per share.”

UnitedHealth’s share price took a major hit after disclosing the lowered guidance even though the company’s health insurance plans and Optum businesses are growing with the company, reporting more than $6 billion in first quarter profits.

But on Tuesday, UnitedHealth suspended its 2025 outlook “as care activity continued to accelerate while also broadening to more types of benefit offerings than seen in the first quarter, and the medical costs of many Medicare Advantage beneficiaries new to UnitedHealthcare remained higher than expected,” the company said. “The company expects to return to growth in 2026.”