NEW YORK (AP) — Although Brian Thompson led one of the largest health insurers in the U.S., he was largely unknown to the millions of people affected by his decision-making.
Wednesday’s fatal shooting of the CEO of United Healthcare on a downtown Manhattan sidewalk — what police are calling a targeted killing — put the executive and his company in the spotlight.
Thompson, who was 50, had led the insurance arm of healthcare giant UnitedHealth Group Inc. since 2021. and worked at the company for twenty years.
As CEO, Thompson led a company that provides health care coverage to more than 49 million Americans. United is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, the private versions of the U.S. government’s Medicare program for people age 65 and older. The company also sells individual insurance and manages health insurance plans for thousands of employers and state and federally funded Medicaid programs.
The portfolio Thompson managed generated $74 billion in revenue last quarter, making it the largest subsidiary of Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group. His annual compensation package of $10.2 million, including salary, bonuses and stock options, made him one of the company’s highest-paid executives.
The University of Iowa graduate, who started his career as a certified public accountant, had little name recognition outside the industry. Even for investors who own the stock, the public face of the parent company belonged to CEO Andrew Witty, a knighted British triathlete who has testified before Congress.
