The CEO of UnitedHealth Group defended the company's role in the U.S. health care system days after a report said the company made huge profits by significantly marking up the cost of lifesaving drugs.

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty told analysts that the company is positioned well for growth in 2025. This comes just a month after the CEO of its insurance unit was murdered.

UnitedHealth Group reported $14.4 billion in 2024 profits as its UnitedHealthcare health insurance and Optum provider services overcame rising costs and a cyberattack.

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

International: Shares of the health care giant slid Thursday after it released its first financial report since the brazen shooting of one of its executives outside a New York City hotel touched a national nerve and brought to the surface American frustration over health care access.

U.S. stock indexes drifted lower following a mixed set of earnings reports from Morgan Stanley, UnitedHealth Group and other big companies

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH) held its first earnings call since the shooting of its insurance executive last month. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed outside of an investor day meeting in New York City on Dec. 4. Luigi Mangione, 26, of Towson, Md., was arrested for the murder days after the attack.

Violent subterranean assaults are casting a pall over the city. Dirtier, less wealthy, less safe, the Big Apple sometimes seems like Gotham City.