The company is the first health insurer to report quarterly results after the Trump administration last week nixed an ambitious proposal to ban drug rebates.

UnitedHealth's decisions around rebates were made independent of any pending regulations and the company's commitment to that won't change moving forward, Wichmann said on a post-earnings conference call.

As part of a proposal outlined in March, UnitedHealth said its pharmacy-benefit management unit OptumRx would mandate that all new employer clients pass on discounts it negotiates with drugmakers directly to plan participants.

Earlier this year, the company also began passing rebates to about 9 million consumers enrolled in its health plans, helping them save an average of $130 (£104.26) per eligible prescription.

Shares of the health insurer fell about 3% in early morning trading.

(Reporting by Manojna Maddipatla in Bengaluru; Editing by Shailesh Kuber)