VIDEO: United Health CEO Decries "Aggressive" Media Coverage in Leaked Recording

Message follows killing of UnitedHealthcare's previous CEO Brian Thompson

United Health Group CEO Andrew Witty made no secret of his displeasure with the media scrutiny in the wake of the murder of former CEO Brian Thompson, according to an internal company address yesterday provided to me.

“You’ve seen a lot of media interest in this situation with a huge amount of misinformation and frankly offensive communication,” Witty said in the address, complaining about what he called the “aggressive, inappropriate and disrespectful” coverage. “People are writing things we simply don’t recognize,” he added. (Company employees I’ve spoken to recognize the problems with the company quite well, as I reported yesterday.)

Witty’s disdain for the media attention wasn’t his only message, though. He also instructed employees not to engage with the press. Here’s what Witty told employees:

“I’d like to give you a little bit of advice around the media…My strong advice and request to everybody is just don't engage with the media. If you're approached, I would recommend not responding and, if necessary, simply refer them to our own media organization.”

The problem with this advice, as I experienced when I provided their communications department with an opportunity to tell their side of the story, is that they simply didn’t respond. That’s why independent media are necessary: without it, you’re stuck relying on paid flacks who only comment on things when it’s in their interests to do so. Please become a subscriber so I can keep providing people with a perspective on what’s happening that isn’t spoon fed by corporate flacks.