United Healthcare 2008 Annual Report Download - page 11

Download and view the complete annual report

Please find page 11 of the 2008 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.

Page out of 132

  • 1
  • 2
  • 3
  • 4
  • 5
  • 6
  • 7
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • 13
  • 14
  • 15
  • 16
  • 17
  • 18
  • 19
  • 20
  • 21
  • 22
  • 23
  • 24
  • 25
  • 26
  • 27
  • 28
  • 29
  • 30
  • 31
  • 32
  • 33
  • 34
  • 35
  • 36
  • 37
  • 38
  • 39
  • 40
  • 41
  • 42
  • 43
  • 44
  • 45
  • 46
  • 47
  • 48
  • 49
  • 50
  • 51
  • 52
  • 53
  • 54
  • 55
  • 56
  • 57
  • 58
  • 59
  • 60
  • 61
  • 62
  • 63
  • 64
  • 65
  • 66
  • 67
  • 68
  • 69
  • 70
  • 71
  • 72
  • 73
  • 74
  • 75
  • 76
  • 77
  • 78
  • 79
  • 80
  • 81
  • 82
  • 83
  • 84
  • 85
  • 86
  • 87
  • 88
  • 89
  • 90
  • 91
  • 92
  • 93
  • 94
  • 95
  • 96
  • 97
  • 98
  • 99
  • 100
  • 101
  • 102
  • 103
  • 104
  • 105
  • 106
  • 107
  • 108
  • 109
  • 110
  • 111
  • 112
  • 113
  • 114
  • 115
  • 116
  • 117
  • 118
  • 119
  • 120
  • 121
  • 122
  • 123
  • 124
  • 125
  • 126
  • 127
  • 128
  • 129
  • 130
  • 131
  • 132

PART I
ITEM 1. BUSINESS
INTRODUCTION
Overview
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated is a diversified health and well-being company, serving more than 70 million
Americans (the terms “we,” “our,” “us” or the “Company” used in this report refer to UnitedHealth Group
Incorporated and our subsidiaries). Our focus is on enhancing the performance of the health system and
improving the overall health and well-being of the people we serve and their communities. We work with
physicians and other health care professionals, hospitals and other key partners to expand access to high quality
health care. We help people get the care they need at an affordable cost, support the physician/patient
relationship, and empower people with the information, guidance and tools they need to make personal health
choices and decisions.
During 2008, we managed approximately $115 billion in aggregate health care spending on behalf of the
constituents and consumers we served. Our primary focus is on improving the health care system by simplifying
the administrative components of health care delivery, promoting evidence-based medicine as the standard for
care, and providing relevant, actionable data that physicians, health care professionals, consumers, employers and
other participants in health care can use to make better, more informed decisions.
Through our diversified family of businesses, we leverage core competencies in advanced technology-based
transactional capabilities; health care data, knowledge and information; and health care resource organization and
care facilitation to improve access to health and well-being services, simplify the health care experience, promote
quality and make health care more affordable. These core competencies are focused in two market areas – health
benefits and health services. Health benefits are offered by UnitedHealthcare and our Public and Senior Markets
Group, which includes Ovations and AmeriChoice. Health services are provided by our Enterprise Services
Markets Group, which includes OptumHealth, Ingenix and Prescription Solutions.
Our revenues are derived from premium revenues on risk-based products; fees from management, administrative,
technology and consulting services; sales of a wide variety of products and services related to the broad health
and well-being industry; and investment and other income. We have four reporting segments:
• Health Care Services, which includes UnitedHealthcare, Ovations and AmeriChoice;
• OptumHealth;
• Ingenix; and
• Prescription Solutions
For a discussion of our financial results by reporting segment, see Item 7, “Management’s Discussion and
Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations.”
Additional Information
UnitedHealth Group Incorporated was incorporated in January 1977 in Minnesota. Our executive offices are
located at UnitedHealth Group Center, 9900 Bren Road East, Minnetonka, Minnesota 55343; our telephone
number is (952) 936-1300.
You can access our website at www.unitedhealthgroup.com to learn more about our Company. From that site,
you can download and print copies of our annual reports to shareholders, annual reports on Form 10-K, quarterly
reports on Form 10-Q, and current reports on Form 8-K, along with amendments to those reports. You can also
download from our website our Articles of Incorporation, bylaws and corporate governance policies, including
1