Case Study on Unitedhealth Group
With health care insurance being the most popular business in the United States UnitedHealth Group now faces federal investigation for compensating Chief Executive Officer (CEO) William McGuire with option profits profiting $1.6 billion. Many other chief executives are questioning if this types of practice in legal, while others are say that the boards of directors of UnitedHealth Group are too easy at the same time generous.
History
In 1974, Charter Med Inc. was founded by doctors and in 1977 United HealthCare Corp. was formed and bought Charter Med Inc. UnitedHealth Care became a publicly traded company in 1984 and William McGuire became the leader of the company in 1989. In between that time the company had acquired a pharmacy benefits management company. Six years later this pharmacy was sold in 1994 to SmithKline Beecham Corp. UnitedHealth Care purchased MetraHealth Companies Inc. in 1995 which was a privately held company that was formed by combining the group health care operations of The Travelers Insurance Company and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (Unitedhealthgroup, 2006). In 1998 the company changed its name to UnitedHealth Group and launched a strategic realignment into independent but strategically linked business segments; UnitedHealth Care, Ovations, Uniprise, Specialized Care Services and Ingenix.
CEO McGuire Dr. William W. McGuire was appointed president and chief operating officer of UnitedHealth Group in 1989, and chief executive officer in February 1991. Dr. McGuire joined UnitedHealth Care Corporation in November 1988 from Peak Health Plan in Colorado, where he had served as president and chief operating officer. From 1980 through 1985, he was a practicing physician in Colorado Springs, Colo., specializing in cardiopulmonary medicine. Dr. McGuire holds board certification in internal medicine and pulmonary medicine, and is a member of the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Policy Board (Unitedhealthgroup,
History
In 1974, Charter Med Inc. was founded by doctors and in 1977 United HealthCare Corp. was formed and bought Charter Med Inc. UnitedHealth Care became a publicly traded company in 1984 and William McGuire became the leader of the company in 1989. In between that time the company had acquired a pharmacy benefits management company. Six years later this pharmacy was sold in 1994 to SmithKline Beecham Corp. UnitedHealth Care purchased MetraHealth Companies Inc. in 1995 which was a privately held company that was formed by combining the group health care operations of The Travelers Insurance Company and Metropolitan Life Insurance Company (Unitedhealthgroup, 2006). In 1998 the company changed its name to UnitedHealth Group and launched a strategic realignment into independent but strategically linked business segments; UnitedHealth Care, Ovations, Uniprise, Specialized Care Services and Ingenix.
CEO McGuire Dr. William W. McGuire was appointed president and chief operating officer of UnitedHealth Group in 1989, and chief executive officer in February 1991. Dr. McGuire joined UnitedHealth Care Corporation in November 1988 from Peak Health Plan in Colorado, where he had served as president and chief operating officer. From 1980 through 1985, he was a practicing physician in Colorado Springs, Colo., specializing in cardiopulmonary medicine. Dr. McGuire holds board certification in internal medicine and pulmonary medicine, and is a member of the National Institutes of Health National Cancer Policy Board (Unitedhealthgroup,