UnitedHealth Group (UNH) announced a new chief executive officer for its health insurance unit, UnitedHealthcare, Thursday, filling the role after Brian Thompson was shot to death last month in New York City.

The company named Tim Noel, who has worked at UnitedHealth for nearly two decades and currently heads its Medicare business, as the successor.

"Today we announced Tim Noel will become UnitedHealthcare CEO. Tim joined UnitedHealth Group in 2007, and most recently served as chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement," the company said in a statement to Yahoo Finance. He "brings unparalleled experience to this role with a proven track record and strong commitment to improving how health care works for consumers, physicians, employers, governments and our other partners."

Noel will take charge of the $298 billion revenue unit, the largest business segment under United's parent company, at a crucial time for the company.

A week ago, United reported slightly disappointing earnings, missing estimates for the first time in recent history. Insurers have struggled to accurately predict costs as an aging population and post-pandemic surge in utilization have burdened the company with higher costs.

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In an effort to streamline its business, the company has implemented artificial intelligence to process claims, which has created frustration among patients who face claim denials and became a focal point of the backlash the company faced in the aftermath of Thompson's death.

United reported $400 billion in full-year revenue for 2024, up 8% year over year. And despite the hit to profits last year from the Change Healthcare cyberattack, the company logged $14 billion in profits for the year.

The company also reported higher medical costs than Wall Street expected, with a medical loss ratio of 87.6% compared to a consensus estimate of 86.1%.

Anjalee Khemlani is the senior health reporter at Yahoo Finance, covering all things pharma, insurance, care services, digital health, PBMs, and health policy and politics. That includes GLP-1s, of course. Follow Anjalee on social media platforms X, LinkedIn, and Bluesky @AnjKhem.

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