Dr. Biill McGuire, Chairman and CEO of United HealthGroup (UHG), is leaving the company. In an answer to the old question, “how much is too much?”, the answer is “$1.5 billion“.
This is, of course, the value of stock options that Dr. M received from UHG over the course of his career, a substantial portion of which were backdated to ensure he received the maximum possible payout.
This is a multi-layered situation.
McGuire is already one of the wealthiest men in the nation; what was he going to do with the extra money?
Health plans are already not exactly the most beloved businesses in the US, and he had to know the rather rich compensation package would outrage many. Or perhaps he just did not concern himself with this particular repercussion. Anyone with a few hundred million bucks can certainly afford some of those fancy noise-canceling headphones…
UHG’s Board may well have seen it as essential to hold onto the executive who was primarily responsible for building one of the most successful companies in America, and thought the billion-plus payout was a reward well-earned.
And health care providers are not in an accomodating mood; the news of McGuire’s demise will undoubtedly stoke their anger even more.
