(Reuters) -UnitedHealth Group said on Tuesday it had named former U.S. Food and Drug Administration commissioner Scott Gottlieb to its board, effective immediately.
Gottlieb, who had served as the FDA chief from 2017 to 2019, stepped down abruptly in 2019 and joined the board of U.S. drugmaker Pfizer later that year.
“I hope to leverage my experience to support providers in their delivery of care that’s not only more innovative but also more affordable, and that improves outcomes for patients and communities,” Gottlieb said in a statement.
Gottlieb was well regarded by public health advocates and won bipartisan support for his efforts to curb use of flavored e-cigarettes by youths, speed approval times for cheap generic medicines to increase competition and bring down drug prices.
Before taking over at the FDA, he was a healthcare investor and consultant who sat on multiple company boards.
This comes as the largest U.S. health insurer is seeking to restore shareholder and consumer confidence under returning Chief Executive Stephen Hemsley after a turbulent period marked by the murder of a top executive, a federal investigation and public anger over industry practices.
Once hailed as a reliable earnings performer, UnitedHealth is working to recover from the fallout of two straight quarterly misses and withdrawal of annual outlook earlier this year as the industry grapples with soaring medical costs and shortfalls in its government-backed plans.
(Reporting by Mariam Sunny in Bengaluru; Editing by Shilpi Majumdar, Anil D’Silva and Maju Samuel)
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