The CEO of UnitedHealth Group defended the company's role in the U.S. health care system days after a report said the company made huge profits by significantly marking up the cost of lifesaving drugs.

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

A group of shareholders filed a proposal asking the Board of Directors to prepare a report on the impacts of the company's practices.

UnitedHealth Group ( UNH) held its first earnings call since the shooting of its insurance executive last month. UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson was killed outside of an investor day meeting in New York City on Dec. 4. Luigi Mangione, 26, of Towson, Md., was arrested for the murder days after the attack.

International: Shares of the health care giant slid Thursday after it released its first financial report since the brazen shooting of one of its executives outside a New York City hotel touched a national nerve and brought to the surface American frustration over health care access.

U.S. stock indexes drifted lower following a mixed set of earnings reports from Morgan Stanley, UnitedHealth Group and other big companies