UnitedHealthcare CEO killing raises questions on security of top executives

The fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson Wednesday morning on a New York City street in what police said was a “targeted” attack raises questions about the security of top executives.

Local security experts say there are standard security measures typically provided to CEOs and executives in large corporations, but it depends on the company.

Brad Brekke, chief business officer at Corporate Security Advisors, said security measures vary between companies based on culture. Those measures include physical security while traveling, cybersecurity and preventative strategies.

Thompson was shot outside the hotel where the company was holding an annual investors’ gathering. There are images and video of the shooting which make it appear Thompson was not closely accompanied by a bodyguard or security detail. New York police officials have said it didn’t appear that Thompson had security with him, although it’s still not clear.

Brekke said at a high level, it’s important to look at the risk environment for the company itself or for the executive. Brekke said companies should be gathering information daily to monitor risk.

“If you see a potential risk, you can lower the profile of the executive or the company by trying to remove certain data from the web. Not publishing travel schedules or specifics, you can change up the routines, the practices. It's fluid, in the sense that risk and threats sort of ebb and flow depending on what the company is, who the executives are,” Brekke said.

Jameson Ritter says he used to work at UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare, on their threat assessment team. Ritter now owns his own company, Threatwise Global. He says while he does not know the motive behind Thompson’s killing, certain companies may face more threats.

“It’s one of the absolute key things you think about,” said Ritter. “Controversy surrounding, for example, oil and gas or military industrial. Health care is certainly one, given ongoing conversations and controversies around health care and health care insurance. There’s going to be industries that, just by their very nature, bring with it controversy, bring with it protest movements or other things.”

Police were still working to find the suspect and determine a motive as of Wednesday evening, but two law enforcement officials told The Associated Press that the words “deny,” “defend” and “depose” were emblazoned on the shooter’s ammunition, echoing a phrase commonly used to describe insurer tactics to avoid paying claims.

Ritter said, generally speaking, health care CEOs tend to be less known publicly.

“So if you have a CEO or a leadership of company that is of a lower risk price profile, maybe less known or less controversial, the likelihood that they have tightened security or protective detail or an executive protection agent with them might be actually much less unless they’re at a higher profile event or something more public where that additional security might be warranted,” he said.

Brekke said post-incident protocols involve a proactive, aggressive approach. He said these types of incidents motivate companies to reassess security measures.

“I would say, on a broad basis, an incident like this causes many corporations to just take a fresh-eyes look at their executive security services to better understand, ‘Are we doing everything we can do? Is it the right thing?’”

MPR News contacted UnitedHealth officials to learn more about the incident, what security measures were in place, and how those security measures will change, but did not hear back in time for publication.

Minnetonka police say they continue to have a presence at the headquarters building and patrol at other UnitedHealthcare facilities in Minnetonka. Police also said they’ve been in regular contact with the company’s security staff and continue to consult with local and state law enforcement partners.

‘People believed in Thompson’s leadership’

The impact of Thompson’s sudden killing is being felt in Minnesota, where he lived and where the company he led since 2021 is based.

He was 50 years old and married with two sons.

Stephen Parente, health economist and professor of finance at the University of Minnesota, worked for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and the White House Council of Economic Advisers under former President Donald Trump.

During the first few months of the COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, Parente worked with Thompson when UnitedHealthcare was selected to provide more capital to hospitals and doctors. He said Thompson was instrumental in making sure 300,000 hospitals and providers got cash infusions to keep running in early April 2020.

“People believed in Thompson’s leadership. He listened well and understood what UnitedHealthcare was capable of,” Parente said.

At UnitedHealthcare, Thompson oversaw the sale of private insurance plans under Medicare Advantage. He was one of UnitedHealth Group’s highest-paid executives and received a $10.2 million annual compensation package last year.

UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, and more than 1 million Minnesotans are Medicare beneficiaries. The health insurance program is for anyone ages 65 and older and younger adults with long-term disabilities.

The company also sells individual insurance and administers health insurance coverage for thousands of employers and state- and federally funded Medicaid programs.

UnitedHealthcare reported more than $281 billion in revenue last year, up 13 percent from the year before, according to a government filing.

Its top-growing businesses were Medicare and retirement plans which includes Medicare Advantage. The company also saw growth in what it calls community and state programs.

UnitedHealthcare reported it had customers overseeing Medicaid and other government assistance programs in 32 states and the District of Columbia with nearly 8 million people covered.

The company has been found to have high rates of denying claims or delaying access to benefits for medically necessary services for older adults enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans.

As of 2022, the company was one of three insurers that turned down about a quarter of all requests for care in nursing homes, inpatient rehab hospitals and long-term hospitals, according to a 2024 congressional report.

The congressional report found that UnitedHealthcare denials were about three times higher than other companies’ denial rates for post-acute care.

UnitedHealthcare has more than 18,000 employees in Minnesota according to the company’s website.

The state of Minnesota lists UnitedHealth Group as ranking 10th in the state for the number of employees, just behind the federal government.

To deal with the loss of Thompson, sources in the company said they have set up grief support for employees who are in need. There’s also employee assistance programs and onsite counseling services available.

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