The Scoop: United Healthcare CEO uses op-ed in attempt to change health insurance narrative

Andrew Witty, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group, authored an op-ed published in the New York Times on Friday to try to reshape the narrative surrounding the shocking death of his colleague, Brian Thompson, in New York last week.

The piece – “The Health Care System Is Flawed. Let’s Fix It.” – starts with Witty expressing appreciation for those who reached out to show support for Thompson, his family and his team at United Healthcare during this time of tragedy. 

But he also admitted that news of Thompson’s death led to a rise in threats and vitriol directed at United Healthcare and its employees – “nurses, doctors, patient and client advocates, technologists and more” who “come to work each day to provide critical health services for millions of Americans in need.”

Witty also uses the piece to try to say that the current healthcare system is not the fault of insurance companies alone: “We know the health system does not work as well as it should, and we understand people’s frustrations with it. No one would design a system like the one we have. And no one did. It’s a patchwork built over decades.”

He also promises a commitment to improving  the system and help people better understand the “very complicated” coverage decisions health insurers make.

Why it matters: An op-ed is a great opportunity to present your side of the story and provides direct access to an audience. But the platform also leaves the author vulnerable to a world of negative backlash, which is what UnitedHealthcare Group is experiencing this morning.

While the op-ed aimed to help calm some of the anger directed at UnitedHealth, it may have done just the opposite. By 10 a.m., the story had generated 844 comments – almost all of them critical of United Healthcare, the insurance industry and even the Times for publishing the piece.

In many ways, Witty had no choice but to respond. His employees are receiving threats. As he aptly said, “No employees — be they the people who answer customer calls or nurses who visit patients in their homes — should have to fear for their and their loved ones’ safety.”

But Witty’s promise to “fix” healthcare resonated as “hollow,” as one person wrote. The piece didn’t offer any true pathways to achieve those goals other than suggesting a “willingness to partner with anyone” to make the system work better.

When penning an opinion piece, it’s important to really think about not just the message you or your company want to convey but also how it’s being said. You can tell people you want to do something and express promises right and left. But if you intend to do something, give them a pathway to really drive home that fact. Showing people how you intend to enact change is a lot more powerful, and believable, then simply telling them you want to do it.

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Casey Weldon is a reporter for PR Daily. Follow him on LinkedIn.