UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson killed in New York shooting [Video]

NEW YORK — Brian Thompson led one of the biggest health insurers in the U.S. but was unknown to millions of the people his decisions affected.

Then Wednesday’s fatal shooting of the UnitedHealthcare CEO in a targeted killing on a midtown Manhattan sidewalk thrust the executive and his business into the national spotlight.

Thompson, who was 50, ran the insurance arm of the giant UnitedHealth Group Inc. since 2021 and had worked at the company for 20 years. He previously led its Medicare and retirement businesses.

As CEO, Thompson led a business that provides health coverage to more than 49 million Americans — more than the population of Spain. United is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage plans, the privately run versions of the U.S. government’s Medicare program for people age 65 and older. The …