UnitedHealthcare CEO kept a low public profile. Then he was shot to death in New York

NEW YORK — Brian Thompson led one of the biggest health insurers in the U.S. but was unknown to millions of the people his decisions affected.

Then Wednesday’s fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO in a targeted killing on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk thrust the executive and his business into the national spotlight.

Thompson, who was 50, ran the insurance arm of the giant UnitedHealth Group Inc. since 2021 and had worked at the company for 20 years. He previously led its Medicare and retirement businesses.

As CEO, Thompson led a business that provides health coverage to more than 49 million Americans — more than the population of Spain. United is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run versions of the U.S. government’s Medicare program for people age 65 and older. The company also sells individual insurance and administers health-insurance coverage for thousands of employers and state-and federally funded Medicaid programs.

The business run by Thompson brought in $281 billion in revenue last year, making it the largest subsidiary of the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based UnitedHealth Group. His $10.2 million annual pay package, including salary, bonus and stock options awards, made him one of the company’s highest-paid executives.

The University of Iowa graduate began his career as a certified public accountant at Pricewaterhouse Coopers and had little name recognition beyond the industry. Even to investors who own its stock, the parent company’s face belonged to CEO Andrew Witty, a knighted British triathlete who has testified before Congress.

Thompson’s few moments of public attention stood in contrast to his role in reshaping the way Americans get health care.

At an investor meeting last year, he outlined his company’s shift to “value-based care,” paying doctors and other caregivers to keep patients healthy, rather than focusing on treating them when they get sick.

“Health care should be easier for people,” Thompson said at the time. “We are cognizant of the challenges. But navigating a future through value-based care unlocks a situation where the … family doesn’t have to make the decisions on their own.”

Thompson also drew attention in 2021 when the insurer, like its competitors, was widely criticized for a plan to start denying payment for what it deemed non-critical visits to hospital emergency rooms.

“Patients are not medical experts and should not be expected to self-diagnose during what they believe is a medical emergency,” the chief executive of the American Hospital Association wrote in an open letter addressed to Thompson. “Threatening patients with a financial penalty for making the wrong decision could have a chilling effect on seeking emergency care.”

United Healthcare responded by delaying rollout of the change.

Thompson was scheduled to speak at an investor meeting when he was shot around 6:45 a.m. outside the New York Hilton Midtown by a masked assailant who fled on foot, the New York Police Department said.

Chief of Detectives Joseph Kenny said investigators were looking at Thompson’s social media accounts and interviewing employees and family members. He said Thompson walked out of the hotel alone.

“Didn’t seem like he had any issues at all,” Kenny said. “He did not have a security detail.”

AP reporter Michael R. Sisak contributed to this report.

This story corrects the style of the company’s name to UnitedHealthcare.