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.

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

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

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

The cyberattack at UnitedHealth Group exposed personal information of 190 million people, leading to a $22 million ransom payment in bitcoin.

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

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

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.

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.

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