(Reuters) – On Friday, a shareholder of UnitedHealth proposed that the healthcare giant implement a policy to appoint an independent chairperson for its board, a position currently held by CEO Stephen Hemsley.
The Accountability Board, a nonprofit organization advocating for shareholder rights and also a UnitedHealth shareholder, indicated that the existing arrangement reduces the board’s crucial checks and balances by centralizing power.
Hemsley stepped into the role of CEO following the unexpected resignation of his predecessor, Andrew Witty, in May and has been serving as board chair since 2017.
The proposal asserts, “Presently, one individual occupies both roles—this is far from the independent oversight that shareholders desperately require.”
Matt Prescott, president of the Accountability Board, refrained from revealing the organization’s stake in UnitedHealth but mentioned it has maintained an investment of at least $25,000 in the firm over the past year.
This proposal emerges as the leading U.S. health insurer strives to rebuild shareholder trust.
Once recognized for its steady earnings, UnitedHealth has fallen short of Wall Street expectations for earnings for two consecutive quarters this year and had to retract its 2025 forecast in May due to rising medical expenses and deficits in its government-sponsored plans.
Over the last couple of years, UnitedHealth has faced other challenges, including a cyberattack on its technology division that serves as a significant component of the U.S. healthcare infrastructure, the tragic murder of its insurance unit leader last December, and a federal probe into its government-sponsored health services.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Alan Barona)
