UnitedHealth Group wants to keep you connected with your health. A leading US health insurer, it offers a variety of health care plans and services to about 70 million customers in the US. Its health care services segment manages HMO, PPO, and POS (point-of-service) plans, as well as various Medicare and Medicaid options, through UnitedHealthcare and AmeriChoice. Members of AARP are served via the company’s Ovations unit. Uniprise handles health plans for large companies, and OptumHealth (formerly Specialized Care Services) offers vision and dental care and other products and services. Ingenix provides health information consulting and publishing, as well as clinical research and drug marketing services.

Criticism

Business Ethics

• Former Chief Will Forfeit $418 Million: “In one of the largest corporate pay give-backs ever, William W. McGuire, the former chief executive of UnitedHealth Group, has agreed to forfeit at least $418 million to settle claims related to back-dated stock options.”

• McGuire faces UnitedHealth Group shareholders: “Minneapolis, Minn. — Heading into its annual meeting, UnitedHealth Group and its CEO, Bill McGuire, face criticism on two separate, but related, fronts. First is the sheer amount of McGuire’s stock-based compensation. His $1.5 billion in unrealized stock option gains place him among the world’s wealthiest business leaders. The second front involves whether a small portion of that wealth came by questionable means.”

• Merck’s Zocor Deal Stirs Ill Will: “Consumer advocates typically cheer lower prices, but in this instance they worry that a short-term benefit for patients will ultimately result in long-term problems. They say moves such as Merck’s undermine generic companies’ chances to generate the profits that fuel their ability to conduct research and challenge drug company patents — eventually resulting in fewer cheap medicines.”

Brands and Subsidiaries

• Ovations, AmeriChoice, Ingenix, OptumHealth, PrescriptionSolutions, PacifiCare[1]