Health Plan Weekly

Here’s how major health insurers’ stock performed in December 2024. UnitedHealth Group had the highest closing stock price among major commercial insurers as of December 31, 2024, at $505.86. Humana Inc. had the highest closing stock price among major Medicare insurers at $253.71.

UnitedHealthcare on Jan. 23 promoted Tim Noel to CEO, replacing Brian Thompson, who was shot and killed last month in front of a New York City hotel before the company’s Investor Day. Noel has worked at UnitedHealthcare since 2007, most recently as head of the insurer’s Medicare and retirement business. Thompson had been UnitedHealthcare’s CEO since 2021 and began working at the company in 2004. Luigi Mangione, 26, was indicted Dec. 17 on charges of murder as an act of terrorism and reportedly targeted Thompson because of Mangione’s disdain for the health insurance industry.   

Abe Sutton, a former policy aide in the first Trump administration, is the likely pick to lead the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation, STAT reported. Sutton currently works at health care investment firm Rubicon Partners. While in the first Trump administration, Sutton helped develop a kidney care initiative and worked on Affordable Care Act marketplace and drug policy initiatives. He also served as an adviser to the secretary of HHS. 

Underscoring the delicate — and sometimes dissonant — balancing act the company plays, UnitedHealth Group’s fourth-quarter earnings call had two overarching themes: philosophical musings about what’s wrong with American health care, and assurances that medical cost pressures that plagued the firm in 2024 won’t follow it into 2025. Still, the company’s stock dropped on the news that its fourth-quarter medical loss ratio (MLR) was higher than expected. 

The Jan. 16 conference call was UnitedHealth’s first publicly broadcast event since the Dec. 4 death of Brian Thompson, who led the company’s insurance arm and was gunned down outside a New York City hotel where he was slated to participate in UnitedHealth’s annual Investor Day. Luigi Mangione, 26, is now facing charges related to a crime that police have indicated was motivated by simmering anger at the health insurance industry.  

As the worst wildfires in Los Angeles history continue to ravage the area and drive people from their homes, health insurers are stepping in to provide needed care to patients and assistance to employees. 

Insurers have submitted plans to the state for how they will respond to the emergency, including relaxing prescription refill limits and allowing members to seek care at out-of-network facilities for in-network costs. The plans were in response to directions issued by California’s insurance commissioner and the Department of Managed Health Care as the fires continued to displace tens of thousands of people. 

Alignment Healthcare, Inc. and Clover Health Investments Corp. each touted their Medicare Advantage membership growth and financial strength during the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference on Jan. 15. They were the only two health insurers to present at the annual conference, which gathers many of the leading health care companies and investors in San Francisco. 

A year ago, CVS Health Corp. and The Cigna Group both participated at the J.P. Morgan conference, while CVS, Centene Corp. and Humana Inc. were among the managed care organizations that presented at the conference in 2023. Cigna, Centene and Oscar Health, Inc. were scheduled to present this year, but they pulled out, STAT reported.