Dive Brief:
- UnitedHealth has added Madeline Bell, a former nurse and hospital administrator, to its board effective immediately, the healthcare behemoth announced this week.
- Bell spent four decades in various pediatric nursing and executive roles at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, before retiring as president and CEO last month.
- Her experience leading clinicians and growing a major health system will “bring an important perspective to our Board,” UnitedHealth CEO and chairman Stephen Hemsley said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
UnitedHealth is in the middle of a financial and operational turnaround, after soaring medical spending over the past few years squeezed margins and growing scrutiny of its business practices — and the high-profile killing of its top insurance executive — ate into public trust.
The Minnesota-based conglomerate has taken a number of actions to right the ship under Hemsley, who took the reins of UnitedHealth last spring after the departure of former CEO Andrew Witty. That includes shoring up its board.
Last year, UnitedHealth formed a new “public responsibility” committee to improve corporate governance, and added Dr. Scott Gottlieb, former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration, to the board.
Now, Bell — a veteran of the hospital industry — is joining as well. She spent eight years as Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia’s chief operating officer before becoming president and CEO in 2015. Bell held those roles for 11 years before retiring in October.
During her tenure at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the system doubled to a $6 billion enterprise and had more than 30,000 employees, according to Bell’s LinkedIn.
However, Bell also came under fire for her pay.
According to an investigation by the Philadelphia Inquirer, Bell made $7.7 million in 2021, making her one of the highest paid local health system CEOs in the U.S. Her pay package exceeded what her nonprofit employer spent on charity care over the past three years combined. Bell’s total pay dropped to $3.7 million the next year.
Along with clinical and hospital leadership experience, Bell also has direct board expertise. She currently serves on the board of Comcast, and previously chaired the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s Board of Directors.
Bell said she was honored to join UnitedHealth’s board in a statement Monday.
“Having cared for children as a nurse and led a children’s hospital, I know how much it matters when care is coordinated, accessible and affordable. I look forward to contributing that experience to the UnitedHealth Group Board,” Bell said.
UnitedHealth’s board actions align with the company’s broader executive overhaul under Hemsley. Most recently, UnitedHealth named its first ever chief administrative officer, a new president of its UnitedHealthcare insurance division, a new chief commercial officer and a new CEO of its commercial insurance division.
The company has also culled health plans, jacked up premiums and taken other actions to improve the profitability of its insurance plans. Those actions are yielding results: UnitedHealth has outperformed Wall Street’s expectations and boosted its 2026 financial guidance three quarters in a row.
The turnaround has helped to restore investor trust, though it’s also rekindling concerns about gargantuan healthcare companies putting profits over patients. UnitedHealth’s stock is up 62% year to date, though it’s still trading at its lowest levels since 2021.
