UnitedHealth CEO downplays his company’s control over physicians

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About that 90,000 number

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty faced Congress last week, where lawmakers pressed him on the Change Healthcare cyberattack (my colleague Brittany Trang watched the hearings closely and tried to break down what it all means). There was one particular exchange that’s worth highlighting.

To illustrate how large UnitedHealth has become, Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) cited how the company is the largest employer or “controller” of physicians, with 90,000 — roughly 10% of all U.S. physicians. Witty felt compelled to clarify that number.

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