We’ve told you several times about the outrageous profits that UnitedHealth Group has earned over the years. That includes $22.3 billion in profits in 2023.
Business is certainly good — and their executives are compensated ridiculously well.
Take UnitedHealth CEO Andrew Witty, for example. He earned $20.8 million in 2022 and $18.4 million the year before.
That sounds like a lot — AND IT IS — but it’s a relative bargain compared to his predecessor David Wichmann, who earned more than $94 million in salary, bonus and stock options as CEO in 2019 and 2020.
All of this from a health insurance company that continually complains that providers are too expensive.
Whenever a health insurance company kicks physician practices out of network — like UnitedHealthcare has done to anesthesia providers in Florida — the rationale is always the same:
“These providers are too expensive. We’re trying to reduce rising healthcare costs for our patients.”
The insurance companies are quick to portray themselves as the good guys, healthcare watchdogs who are valiantly fighting to save the world from healthcare costs that are spiraling out of control.
But there’s just one small problem — it’s simply not true.