UnitedHealth Group

The company, then named United HealthCare Corporation, had offered services to health care coverage purchasers and providers since 1974, and was incorporated in Minnesota in January 1977.⁠[1]

On May 27, 1994, the company sold its Diversified Pharmaceutical Services subsidiary for $2.3 billion in pre-tax cash proceeds, recording an extraordinary gain of $1.4 billion and keeping a continued management role with the business. Its May 1994 mergers with Ramsay-HMO and Complete Health Services were accounted for as poolings of interests.⁠[2]

In 1994 the company acquired health plans including CAC-Ramsay Health Plans of Miami and Complete Health of Birmingham. At year-end it had about 9,600 employees, and its stock was listed on the New York Stock Exchange.⁠[1]

MetraHealth was formed in January 1995 by combining the group health care operations of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and The Travelers Insurance Group. On October 2, 1995, the company acquired The MetraHealth Companies, Inc., using $1.09 billion in cash (net of cash and investments assumed), and the former owners were eligible for up to an additional $350 million if MetraHealth met certain 1995 operating results.⁠[3]

In late 1997 the company announced an internal realignment into business units, and in January 1998 it began reorganizing its operations into six business lines, with its subsidiaries operating under the name UnitedHealth Group. Revenues reached $17.4 billion in 1998, a 47% increase over 1997, and the company employed about 29,226 people at December 31, 1998.⁠[4]

By 1999 the company was named UnitedHealth Group Incorporated, having formerly been known as United HealthCare Corporation. It comprised five principal businesses: Health Care Services, made up of UnitedHealthcare and Ovations, plus Uniprise, Specialized Care Services and Ingenix. Its principal executive offices were at UnitedHealth Group Center in Minnetonka, Minnesota, and it employed about 29,000 people at December 31, 1999.⁠[5]

Stephen J. Hemsley became chief executive officer in November 2006. Richard T. Burke became chair of the board in 2006; he had been chief executive officer of the predecessor corporation, UnitedHealthcare, Inc., until 1988.⁠[6]

The SEC alleged that former CEO William W. McGuire backdated stock options from at least 1994 through 2005. He agreed to a $468 million settlement, including about $448 million under the Sarbanes-Oxley Act’s Section 304 “clawback” provision, without admitting or denying the charges.⁠[7]

S&P Dow Jones IndicesS&P Dow Jones IndicesS&P Dow Jones Indices (S&P DJI) is a global index provider that compiles and licenses benchmark indices including the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average. It was formed in 2012 by combining McGraw-Hill’s S&P index business with the Dow Jones Indexes business held by a joint venture of CME Group and Dow Jones, and it is now the index business division of S&P Global, which holds about 73% of the interest.Open the full entry announced that UnitedHealth would join the Dow Jones Industrial Average effective September 24, 2012, replacing Kraft Foods, which was about to shrink substantially after spinning off its North American grocery business.⁠[8]

In 2012 the company operated two business platforms: health benefits under UnitedHealthcare and health services under Optum, whose three businesses were OptumHealth, OptumInsight and OptumRx. In October 2012, UnitedHealthcare International acquired Amil, subjecting the company to Brazilian laws and regulations affecting the managed care and insurance industries. The company employed about 133,000 people at December 31, 2012.⁠[9]

On July 1, 2015, the company changed its state of incorporation from Minnesota to Delaware. That year it also acquired Catamaran Corporation, which allowed OptumRx to serve more people.⁠[10]

Hemsley served as chief executive officer until August 2017, the same month Burke’s term as chair ended.⁠[6]

David Wichmann became CEO in September 2017, after serving as chief financial officer from 2011 until mid-2016 and then as president.⁠[11]

The company announced an agreement to acquire Change Healthcare’s common stock for $25.75 per share in cash and to combine it with OptumInsight to provide software and data analytics, technology-enabled services and research; the deal was expected to close in the second half of 2021.⁠[12]

On February 4, 2021, the company announced Wichmann’s retirement; Andrew Witty became CEO immediately. Witty had been CEO of Optum since March 2018, added the role of president of UnitedHealth Group in November 2019, and had earlier been CEO of GlaxoSmithKline.⁠[11]

The U.S. Department of Justice challenged the transaction. On April 5, 2022, the companies extended their merger agreement to December 31, 2022, reaffirming their commitment to contesting what they called a “meritless legal challenge” and preparing to present the combination’s benefits at a two-week trial scheduled to begin on August 1.⁠[13]

On October 3, 2022, Optum announced that it had completed its combination with Change Healthcare.⁠[14]

In February 2024, Change Healthcare was hit by a ransomware attack claimed by AlphV, also known as Blackcat; Witty later confirmed a $22 million ransom paid in bitcoin. The company spent $3.1 billion responding to the attack in 2024. The count of people possibly affected, put at about 100 million in October 2024, was raised to about 190 million in January 2025.⁠[15]

On the morning of December 4, 2024, UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was shot dead by a masked man outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel shortly before the company’s annual investor conference, which then ended early. Thompson, 50, had joined the company in 2004 and led UnitedHealthcare from April 2021.⁠[16]

On May 13, 2025, Witty stepped down as CEO for personal reasons and became a senior adviser to Hemsley, who was named CEO effective immediately and remained chairman of the board, a role he had held since 2017. The company suspended its 2025 outlook the same day because medical costs were higher than expected and care activity kept accelerating.⁠[17]

On July 24, 2025, the company said it had proactively contacted the U.S. Department of Justice and begun complying with formal criminal and civil requests concerning aspects of its Medicare Advantage business. It said it had “full confidence” in its practices and had launched third-party reviews covering processes such as risk assessment coding.⁠[18]

The company reports four segments, Optum Health, Optum Insight, Optum Rx and UnitedHealthcare, and had more than 390,000 employees at December 31, 2025, including nearly 165,000 clinical professionals.⁠[19]

Total revenues for 2025 were $447.57 billion (2024: $400.28 billion), earnings from operations were $18.96 billion (2024: $32.29 billion), net earnings attributable to common shareholders were $12.06 billion (2024: $14.41 billion), and diluted earnings per share were $13.23 (2024: $15.51). The 2025 medical care ratio was 89.1%.⁠[20]

Revenues grew 12% year over year, and cash flows from operations were $19.7 billion, or 1.5 times net income. Hemsley said, “We confronted challenges directly and finished 2025 as a much stronger company.”⁠[21]

Third-quarter 2026 revenues were $112.7 billion, earnings from operations were $6.6 billion, earnings per share were $4.56 and adjusted earnings per share were $4.69. Hemsley said, “Our third quarter results reflect the discipline and execution our teams are bringing to every part of our business.”⁠[22]