UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty is trying again.
The head of the corporation that includes insurer UnitedHealthcare has been pushing back against the public backlash against his company unleashed by the killing of CEO Brian Thompson last week. Witty previously denounced the “negative” and “frankly offensive” public response to Thompson’s killing, much of which has centered on corporate policies that critics say have lined shareholders’ pockets at the expense of United customers. He recently followed that up with a memo to employees at the insurance titan, sharing “messages of support" from supposed customers.
According to Witty’s memo, obtained by journalist Ken Klippenstein and reportedly sent out on Wednesday, not all customers feel slighted by the insurance provider with its notoriously high denial rates. Some are even grateful. He said that "condolences, gratitude and encouragement are pouring in" in the wake of Thompson's killing.
UnitedHealth CEO sent employees a memo yesterday (leaked to me) listing "messages of support," the first of which says UHC "works within a broken system to help as many people as they can." Not exactly a ringing endorsement! pic.twitter.com/BIfimhwVV4
— Ken Klippenstein (@kenklippenstein) December 12, 2024
“I'm thankful to UHC and everyone there who works within a broken system to help as many people as they can,” one customer shared, per Witty.
“I just wanted to express to UHC my condolences to everyone for the loss of your CEO. He was a fair-minded leader whom I appreciated very much!” another said.
Others expressed surprise at the sheer public disaffection with United.
“I don't know why somebody did that ... but prayers going up, and y'all just keep going cause you guys got good customer service, and I like your healthcare, so I'm not going to switch,” one customer said.
Klippenstein previously published a manifesto that he claims came from Luigi Mangione. Mangione was arrested in Altoona, Pennsylvania, earlier this week and is the prime suspect in Thompson's fatal shooting. The short screed calls healthcare CEOs "parasites" and says that people like Thompson "had it coming." It goes on to say that companies like UnitedHealth "continue to abuse our country for immense profit because the American public has allowed them to get away with it.”
Witty's carefully assembled set of unattributed customer sentiments come as some politicians point to the shooting and the public anger it has revealed as a wake-up call.
“The visceral response from people across this country who feel cheated, ripped off, and threatened by the vile practices of their insurance companies should be a warning to everyone in the health care system,” Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren told the Huffington Post on Tuesday, calling it a warning against “push[ing] people hard enough.”
