UnitedHealth Group has appointed Stephen J. Hemsley as its CEO with immediate effect, succeeding Andrew Witty.

Witty’s departure from the CEO position was due to “personal reasons”, the company said in a statement.

Hemsley, the company’s former CEO, will retain his position as chairman of the Board of Directors, while Witty will transition to a senior advisory role to Hemsley.

Hemsley joined as chief operating officer in 1997 before becoming president in 1999.

He was the CEO from 2006 to 2017 and took on the responsibility of board chair in 2017.

Hemsley said: “We are grateful for Andrew’s stewardship of UnitedHealth Group, especially during some of the most challenging times any company has ever faced. 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.

Witty stated: “Leading the people of UnitedHealth Group has been a tremendous honour as they work every day to improve the health system, and they will continue to inspire me.”

Concurrently, UnitedHealth has announced the suspension of its financial outlook for 2025.

The health insurer said this decision comes amid an acceleration in care activity and expansion into a broader range of benefit offerings than previously anticipated in the first quarter (Q1).

Furthermore, the medical costs for several Medicare Advantage beneficiaries new to UnitedHealthcare have been higher than expected, the company said.

Hemsley added: “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.”

UnitedHealth expects to “return to growth” next year.

This follows the company swing back to profit in Q1 2025, with net earnings of $6.4bn, as against a net loss of $1.2bn in the same quarter of 2024.

"UnitedHealth Group names new CEO " was originally created and published by Life Insurance International, a GlobalData owned brand.

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