UnitedHealth to pay departing CEO $5.1M

[OhioChick]

Posted on Tue, Oct. 17, 2006

MINNEAPOLIS - After being forced to step down over the company's compensation practices, UnitedHealth chief executive William McGuire will retire on $5.1 million a year, according to the calculations of a watchdog group.

McGuire has agreed to retire by Dec. 1, and he stepped down from his post as chairman on Sunday. The move came after a company-sponsored investigation determined that many of the company's stock options were backdated to make them more favorable for the recipients, including McGuire, other executives, and thousands of UnitedHealth employees.

McGuire's severance benefits include a $6.5 million lump sum, according to Portland, Maine-based group The Corporate Library, which has criticized McGuire's pay before.

McGuire has stock options that were worth $1.78 billion as of the end of 2005. Their current value is not known. Investors have sold off UnitedHealth shares since questions about options backdating arose in March. Then, on Sunday, UnitedHealth said McGuire would re-price his options to the highest point in the year they were granted to remove any possibility that he got a favorable price.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/business/15777164.htm


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Is it a wonder why healthcare costs so much?