Click in for more news from The Hill{beacon} Health Care Health Care   The Big Story UnitedHealth CEO blames drug companies for high costsIn his first public remarks since the murder of

Witty's comments came during the company's first earnings call since the killing of Brian Thompson, the CEO of the company's insurance arm UnitedHealthcare.

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty honored Brian Thompson, the health insurance executive murdered last month, praising his dedication to improving the U.S. health care system. Witty acknowledged public support following the tragedy and highlighted the nation’s costly health care as the root issue behind access and quality concerns.

UnitedHealth has named a new head of its insurance segment less than two months after the death of a former executive.

The updated tally extends the scope beyond what was previously described by company Chief Executive Andrew Witty.

But high medical costs contributed to results that disappointed Wall Street, and the company’s stock fell on the news that it had made less than analysts expected.

The CEO of UnitedHealth Group said Thursday that shortcomings of America’s health care system must be addressed.

Change Healthcare now estimates that 190 million people were affected in the massive cyberattack that took down its services nearly a year ago. | Change Healthcare now estimates that 190 million people were affected in the massive cyberattack that took down its services nearly a year ago.

The number of individuals confirmed to be affected by the data breach is almost double the company's previous estimate.

CEO Andrew Witty promised that UnitedHealthcare would work to speed up turnaround times for approval of some procedures and services in Medicare Advantage plans.

Pharmacy benefit managers actually "play a vital role in holding" sometimes-inflated prices down, said UHG CEO Andrew Witty in an earnings call.

Leading US health insurance provider UnitedHealth Group has confirmed that some 190 million Americans were impacted by the ransomware attack on its subsidiary, Change Healthcare. This is nearly double the initial estimate. The confirmation was made by the company to TechCrunch.