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UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty now receiving threats after leaked internal company video shows him complaining about media coverage. UnitedHealth Group is the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, for whom the murdered Brian Thompson was the CEO.
In the video, which has drawn much ire from many online, Andrew Witty defends the company’s policies, noting that it will continue to prevent what he calls “unnecessary care.”
“Our role is a critical role, and we make sure that care is safe, appropriate, and is delivered when people need it,” Witty said. He also added that UnitedHealth Group will continue to “guard against the pressures that exist for unsafe care or for unnecessary care” because not doing so would make “the whole system too complex and ultimately unsustainable.”
Andrew Witty told employees in the scripted speech, which was shared by independent journalist Ken Klippenstein on social media, that he has “never been more proud of this company and our colleagues and what this company does on behalf of people in need across this country.”
His speech was met by numerous negative comments and even some barely-veiled threats.
“”Unnecessary care” ??? Man screw Andrew Witty,” one person commented. “You guys are monsters who have blood on your hands. You belong in jail.”
“So, they show no remorse, no self awareness,” read another comment. “No sign of understanding for customers. Got it.”
“I hope karma find him too,” someone else wrote.
Many of the comments were much worse.
Also in his video, Andrew Witty warned employees of the UnitedHealthcare – the largest health insurance company in the United States – to “tune out that critical noise that we’re hearing right now” because “it does not reflect reality. It is simply a sign of an era in which we live.”
“What we must know is focus on what we know to be true,” he continued. “And what we know to be true is that we need a company like UnitedHealth Group and it needs people like Brian within it.”
Witty suggested that the coverage of the death of Brian Thompson has been “aggressive, inappropriate and disrespectful,” and advised and requested that employees of the company “don’t engage with the media. If you’re approached, I would recommend not responding and, if necessary, simply refer them to our own media organization.”
“What we know to be true is the health system needs a company like UnitedHealth Group,” Andrew Witty also claimed in his address.