UnitedHealth CEO resigns as company scraps '25 forecast

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty stepped down from his post for “personal reasons,’ the company said in a statement Tuesday.

- CLAIRE MOSES

The company also scrapped its financial forecast for this year because of higher than expected medical costs, saying only that it expected the company to “return to growth in 2026.”

After the announcement Tuesday, UnitedHealth Group's stock fell by more than 17%. Combined with a steep drop in April after its quarterly earnings came up short of expectations, the company’s stock has lost nearly half of its value over the past month.

Stephen Hemsley, chair of the company’s board of directors who served as CEO from 2006 until 2017, will immediately succeed Mr Witty, the company said.

Mr Witty, who became CEO in 2021, led UnitedHealth Group “during some of the most challenging times any company has ever faced,’ Mr Hemsley said in the statement.