UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) shares were down by more than 21% Thursday, the stock's worst drop since 1998, after the company reported worse-than-expected quarterly results due in part to the rising cost of health care in the U.S. CEO Andrew Witty provided additional insights on the company's earnings call following the print. 

What To Know: UnitedHealth cut its fiscal 2025 earnings guidance significantly and said it now expects adjusted earnings in the range of $26 to $26.50 per share versus an earlier range of $29.50 to $30 per share. 

The company said the change was partially driven by "heightened care activity indications within UnitedHealthcare's Medicare Advantage business," as utilization rates of physician and outpatient services were higher than expected. 

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Witty provided more context on the high costs of health care services during the call with analysts. 

"We all have to contend with the stubborn fact that health care costs more in the U.S. than it should, even beyond the widely recognized disparities in drug prices," the CEO said. 

"Common procedures such as heart bypass surgery, spinal fusions and heart stents are four times as expensive in the U.S. as they are in Germany, Australia, and the U.K. Total Hip Replacements are twice as much. It's simply not sustainable," Witty added. 

He pointed to UnitedHealth's Medicaid Advantage and OptumHealth programs as part of the solution for lower costs and improved patient outcomes. 

"We know that when a Medicare Advantage patient is in a fully delegated value-based care managed clinic like OptumHealth, they will save even more money for the system, and they will have better personal experience, they have better clinical outcomes, and the government spends less money. It's those sorts of integrated approaches which we think are the response," Witty said. 

The health care giant's CEO closed the call by expressing UnitedHealth's "determination to improve" and enthusiasm about the path ahead. 

"We remain deeply committed to the value-based care strategy of the company, and we believe that that is the way to solve many of America's health care problems, both from a cost, but most importantly, a patient experience and outcome perspective," Witty told the analysts. 

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