So far, 2025 has been anything but smooth for UnitedHealth Group.
The healthcare giant announced Tuesday that Andrew Witty will step down as CEO due to “personal reasons.” He is being replaced by Stephen J. Hemsley, who served as the company’s CEO from 2006 to 2017. Hemsley will remain as UHG’s chairman of the Board of Directors, and Witty will be senior advisor to Hemsley.
“Leading the people of UnitedHealth Group has been a tremendous honor as they work every day to improve the health system, and they will continue to inspire me,” Witty said in a statement.
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The company also announced that it has suspended its 2025 outlook “as care activity continued to accelerate while also broadening to more types of benefit offerings than seen in the first quarter, and the medical costs of many Medicare Advantage beneficiaries new to UnitedHealthcare remained higher than expected.” UHG said it anticipates to return to growth in 2026.
UnitedHealth Group declined MedCity News’ request to comment further.
Following the announcement, the company’s stock dropped by nearly 18%. This comes just weeks after the company lowered its annual forecast due to a disappointing first-quarter performance, and only months after UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot and killed in December.
How is social media reacting to the CEO’s departure and the stock drop? It can be boiled down to three buckets:
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Is it really for personal reasons?
Some people are questioning what leaving for “personal reasons” really means.
“While ‘personal reasons’ is the reason offered for Andrew Witty’s departure, the suspension of guidance would suggest his departure is more to do with the personal reasons of the board rather than the boss,” said Dylan Jones, managing partner of Boldsquare, a business management consultant, on LinkedIn.
Jones added that those who were part of the “Witty-era leadership bench” may now be questioning their own future at the company.
Jones isn’t alone in suspecting that Witty was likely pushed out rather than stepping down voluntarily.
“Here’s how to get fired from the largest healthcare company in the world:
- 9% stock price since you assumed the role
- 47% stock price in one month,” said Preston Alexander, author of the The Healthcare Breakdown, a healthcare newsletter, on LinkedIn.
A buying opportunity
UnitedHealth Group is undoubtedly facing challenges in the short-term due to its major cyberattack, missed earnings and regulatory scrutiny. However, one person on X believes these issues are temporary and views this as a buying opportunity.
“Based on every model and datapoint I’ve reviewed — nothing suggests this is a permanently broken business. … I may be early. The stock could fall further in the short term. But I’m not trying to time the bottom. I’m trying to buy quality businesses when they’re hated and undervalued. This feels like one of those times. I’m buying shares today,” said @dividendology, who has a substack on investing.
Another investor called UnitedHealth one of the best healthcare stocks.
“All its short-term incidents in the past will soon get faded,” said @GoodwillTrader on X. “A super stock will always recover. I have 100% confidence in this investment long-term. 39% under-valued and touching monthly support with time-cycled.”
Is this deserved?
While some are viewing this as a buying opportunity, others are arguing that UnitedHealth Group is deserving of its struggles.
“I hope UnitedHealth continues to go under. Awful company. Their denial rate is 2x that of the industry average. Total scam of a company,” argued TeeDee144 on Reddit.
TeeDee144 isn’t the only one to think this.
“My company uses UHC and they are the absolute worst health insurance I’ve ever dealt with,” said lion27 on Reddit. “Unless you’re making a payment, everything is as difficult as possible and they deny EVERYTHING. I switched to a family plan with Aetna through my wife’s company when our first baby was born and they have been wonderful. Not sure if they just look great compared to UHC, but for the first time I don’t violently hate my insurance company.”
Photo: filo, Getty Images