| |
JANUARY 12, 2004
Dr. William McGuire UnitedHealth Group Blunt-talking former pulmonologist Dr. William W. McGuire calls the U.S. medical system "sub-optimal." Care isn't always state-of-the-art, and a patchwork of insurance programs can make payments mind-numbingly complex. By plugging some of the gaps, McGuire's UnitedHealth Group Inc (UNH ). has grown like kudzu. Its earnings have risen 26% annually for the past decade, and 2004 revenues should top $33.5 billion. When McGuire took over in 1991, UnitedHealth was little more than a regional health-maintenance organization. By trying to offer something for every-body and identifying lucrative niches, McGuire, now 55, has turned it into one of the most diversified health-services companies. If you don't like the restrictions of an HMO plan, you can sign up for a preferred-provider organization. Belong to AARP? You can sign up for a special drug-discount card. Growth may slow, though. The company expects a 33% earnings gain for 2003, to about $1.8 billion, but that could shrink to 22% in 2004 as cost-containment among its customers takes hold. Still, UnitedHealth is in the pink -- and likely to stay there. Key Accomplishments -- A diverse portfolio of plans boosted UnitedHealth's customer base by almost 10%, to 50 million, securing its spot as the nation's biggest health-services company. -- Set up a program to track cardiology centers of excellence, so that patients can find the best places for treatment. 
BW MALL
SPONSORED LINKS
Get BusinessWeek directly on your desktop with our RSS feeds.
Buy a link now! Add BusinessWeek news to your Web site with our headline feed. Click to buy an e-print or reprint of a BusinessWeek or BusinessWeek Online story or video. To subscribe online to BusinessWeek magazine, please click here. Learn more, go to the BusinessWeekOnline home page  | | |
 Copyright 2004, by The McGraw-Hill Companies Inc. All rights reserved.Terms of Use | Privacy Policy |
Printer-Friendly Version
