Insurance giant UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is blaming providers and drug companies for the growing costs of health care in the U.S.

This came after the company faced a wave of public scrutiny for its denial practices following the tragic death of Brian Thompson, CEO of its insurance arm, UnitedHealthcare. 

“Fundamentally, healthcare costs more in the US because the price of a single procedure, visit or prescription, is higher here than it is in other countries,” Andrew Witty, CEO of UnitedHealth Group, said during the company’s Q4 earnings call Thursday morning. “The core fact is that prices, more than utilization, drive system costs higher. Tackling that problem will require all parts of the system and policymakers to come together.”

Despite some challenges last year, including the massive cyber attack on Change Healthcare, UnitedHealth Group’s revenue grew 8% in 2024 to $400 billion. The company affirmed its 2025 outlook of $450 billion to $455 billion.

Value-based care arrangements could be one way to help change this structure, according to Witty.

“America faces the same fundamental healthcare dynamic as the rest of the world. The resources available to pay for healthcare are limited, while demand for healthcare is unlimited,” he said. “We have incredible opportunities here to improve system performance, both from a care and a cost perspective, while building upon the foundational strengths. …The mission of this company and why we exist is to improve the system for everybody and help people live healthier lives. That means getting more people into high quality, value-based care and keeping them healthy in the first place, so fewer Americans find themselves with a chronic and in many cases, preventable disease.”

Value-based care has been somewhat of a north star across health care. Although the movement has picked up traction primarily in the physical health space, behavioral health providers are increasingly looking to ink value-based care contracts.

Payers across the board are looking for more data and measurement-based care in behavioral health. This has been an ongoing discussion for years.

“A day doesn’t go by where I don’t get a phone call from one of our partners asking for higher rates,” former OptumHealth Behavioral Health Solutions CEO Trip Hofer said at the Behavioral Health Business VALUE 2023. “If you want a higher rate … I need data. I need to see what you are doing.”

UnitedHealth’s health service arm, Optum, could be especially prime for delivering value-based care in the future. The company reported that value-based care patients served by Optum grew by 600,000.

“Value-based care is outcomes-based aligning processes, actions, and incentives helping keep people healthy in the first place, rather than just seeing them when they are sick,” John Rex, chief financial officer and executive vice president of UnitedHealth Group, said. “Optum Health is an integrated, multi-payer care delivery company, helping to lead the transition to a truly sustainable, value-based care system.”