United Healthcare 2004 Annual Report Download - page 3

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Please find page 3 of the 2004 United Healthcare annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.

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By conventional standards of measurement, UnitedHealth Group
achieved strong performance across its diverse set of
businesses in 2004. But as important as financial results are,
they alone do not fully convey the tangible advances in our
efforts to promote optimal health for all people.
Perhaps most gratifying is the measurable progress UnitedHealth Group continues to
make toward addressing key challenges in health care. This is being realized by marshaling
unparalleled capabilities in organizing resources, developing and applying technology,
and using data to enhance knowledge across a diverse set of markets. The strategic focus
of our company, which has remained unchanged for more than a decade and a half, centers
on making the health care system
—
a system rich in capability, but consistently inefficient,
variable in its results and challenging in its accessibility
—
work better.
Over these years, we have held fast to our key beliefs in offering choice and access,
simplifying the health care experience, promoting safe and evidence-based medicine,
facilitating care for people and, ultimately, improving affordability. These core principles and
elements
—
focused on the needs of the marketplace rather than a particular product or
capability
—
have served as our impetus to pursue innovations and opportunities across the
full spectrum of the health and well-being arena. In so doing, we have had a meaningful
impact on advancing health and well-being for the constituencies we serve.
The shared commitment of our employees, regardless of individual responsibilities or
involvement in a particular business unit, is that in everything we do we must ultimately
address the basic needs of our customers. More than ever, we are committed to making
the needs of customers our priority, and to further act on what we have long believed.
LETTER TO SHAREHOLDERS
1