UnitedHealth executive and former Optum leader Heather Cianfrocco is leaving the company, according to a post on LinkedIn.
Cianfrocco was promoted to executive vice president of governance, compliance and information security at UnitedHealth in May, after serving for a year as CEO of Optum, the company’s health services arm. Patrick Conway, the former CEO of Optum Rx, replaced Cianfrocco.
Cianfrocco is departing UnitedHealth after serving in a number of executive positions, including as CEO of Optum Rx and chief of UnitedHealthcare’s community and state division. “After 24 years, I am saying goodbye to the team at UnitedHealth Group,” she said in a post on LinkedIn. “I am leaving with so much pride in what we have accomplished together.”
UnitedHealth did not respond to a request for comment on Cianfrocco’s departure, including when the executive is leaving and who would be named as her replacement.
The departure comes at a time of change for UnitedHealth, which has had to contend with flagging profits and rising expenses in its insurance arm.
Declining profits in Medicare Advantage in particular have hit UnitedHealth hard. Government regulatory changes have eaten into its profits, combined with increased spending as seniors utilize more pricey medical care.
In January, the company released 2025 earnings that included the lowest annual profit UnitedHealth has logged since 2018, and said it expected a first-in-decades revenue contraction this year.
Its health insurance division, UnitedHealthcare, has pared back its MA members in an effort to shield itself from the unfavorable changes. As of last month, the insurer enrolled 9% less MA beneficiaries in its plans compared to October, before the start of Medicare open enrollment.
Still, more headwinds could be on the horizon. In January, the CMS proposed a flat MA rate update for next year, which could eat into MA insurers’ profits.
The Trump administration has also prioritized cracking down on overpayments in the privatized Medicare program. In January, the CMS proposed a rule that would would exclude patient diagnoses that aren’t linked to medical care from MA risk adjustment, which would effectively eliminate a strategy insurers use to garner higher reimbursement from the government. The agency has also said it will pursue accelerated audits of MA plans, even after setbacks in court.
