UnitedHealth Hits Reset: New Head Of Medicaid Appointed As CEO Reshapes Team

Group 1 - UnitedHealth Group appointed Mike Cotton as the new CEO of its Medicaid division, a position that had been vacant since May [1] - Bobby Hunter, who leads the Medicare business, will now oversee both Medicare and Medicaid segments [1] - The leadership changes are part of the company's strategy to build an executive team with broad experience across its various businesses [2][3] Group 2 - Andrew Witty stepped down as CEO in May, with Stephen Hemsley returning to the leadership role, leading to several executive changes at Optum [2] - Hemsley acknowledged the company's recent struggles and emphasized the need to rethink internal processes during the annual shareholder meeting [3][4] - Recent financial results have been factored into the company's 2025 Medicare bids, highlighting the importance of adopting a fresh perspective [4] Group 3 - Under Witty, UnitedHealth expanded its dominance in Medicare Advantage, achieving profit margins on Medicare enrollees roughly double those of traditional Medicare insurers [5] - Medicare policy changes announced in 2023 are expected to reduce or eliminate many extra payments, impacting nearly 900,000 patients [6] - Despite these challenges, UnitedHealth continues to pursue Medicare growth for 2025, even in higher-risk patient groups, while competitors have pulled back [6]