Key competitors for uhc medicare supplement

Table of Contents

Introduction to the Company Page

Current Firm Description 3

Company History 3-5

Vision and Mission Statement 5-6

Vision and Mission Statement Assessment 6-7

External Assessment

External Factor Evaluation (EFE) Matrix 7-12

Competitive Profile (CPM) Matrix 12-14

Internal Assessment

Internal Factor Evaluation (IFE) Matrix 14-19

Financial Ratio Analysis 19-22

External and Internal Assessment Implications 22-24

Current Strategy 24-26

Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats (SWOT) Matrix 26-29

The Strategic Position and Action Evaluation (SPACE) Matrix 29-31

Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Matrix 32-34

Possible Strategic Alternatives 34-38

Current Organizational Structure Evaluation 38-39

Organizational Recommendations

Organizational Culture 39-40

Business Processes 40-41

Rewards Structure 41

Technology 41-43

References 44-52

Introduction to UnitedHealth Group

Current Firm Description

UnitedHealth Group (UHG) is a publicly-traded healthcare organization that serves millions of individuals of all ages through their two sectors, Optum and United Healthcare. The company has become the largest health insurance company in the United States, with a current market share of 13% (Trefis Team, 2020). The firm's goal is to make a healthier world by making the health care system easier to navigate through their insurance coverage and included services for their members (United Healthcare, 2020). Optum is a healthcare service made up of patient care and pharmaceutical services in the United States (Optum, 2020). United Healthcare sells various health, vision, dental, and supplemental insurance plans to large and small groups, and individuals and families. The organization caters to local communities by offering Medicaid and Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) plans for those with low income while following state regulations and those in retirement age and disabilities by providing Medicare Part A, B, C, and D plans.

Company History

UnitedHealth Group is a public healthcare company based out of Minnetonka, Minnesota, United States, specializing in insurance services and healthcare products. The company began with the name United Healthcare in 1974 with the founding of Charter Med by Richard Taylor Burke based in Minnesota (Patrick, 2015) to manage the Physicians Health Plan of Minnesota. The Physicians Health Plan was an early health management company. United Healthcare expanded in 1988 with a new name (UnitedHealth Group) and went public with the Diversified Pharmaceutical Services subsidiary, its first pharmacy benefit management. The company began managing pharmacy benefits delivering mail and retail pharmacy services. The pharmaceutical subsidiary was then sold to SmithKline Beecham in 1994 (Patrick, 2015). The journey into the insurance business began in 1994 with the acquisition of Ramsey-HMO, which is an insurer in Florida. In 1996, UnitedHealth Group continued operations through the purchase of Healthwise of America, which had several Health Maintenance Organizations (HMO) in areas such as Tennessee, Maryland, and Kentucky (Patrick, 2015).

Critical events. The company realigned its operations in 1998 to include five independent businesses such as UnitedHealthcare, Ovations, Uniprise, Specialized Care Service and Ingenix. This significant realignment resulted in United Healthcare Corp being renamed to UnitedHealth Group (Haefner, 2017). United Health Group also acquired HealthPartners of Arizona in the same year. The organization became the operator of Arizona’s largest Arizona Health Care Cost Containment System (AHCCCS). The company continued its operations by purchasing several other organizations, such as PacifiCare Health Systems (Patrick, 2015). There were antitrust concerns at the time, which made the organization divest parts of PacifiCare’s commercial health insurance. There were sales and other agreements, such as the end of the network access agreement with Blue Shield of California. Over time, the company continued to invest in different organizations and expand its operations.

Current leadership. The UHG is under the direction of Chief Executive Officer (CEO), David Wichmann, who was appointed to the position on September 1, 2017. As the CEO, he is in charge of the company’s strategic direction, growth, and overall performance. The Vice-Chairman is Larry C. Renfro. Additional leaders from various subsidiaries of the organization include Sir Andrew Witty, who is the CEO of Optum, Ken Ehlert, Chief Scientific Officer of UnitedHealth Group, Cory B. Alexander, Executive Vice President at UnitedHealth Group, Richard Migliori, Chief Medical Officer of UnitedHealth Group, Dan Schumacher, President and Chief Operating Officer of Optum, and John Rex, Chief Financial Officer of UnitedHealth Group (UnitedHealth Group, 2020a)

Primary competitors. There are several primary competitors for the UHG. The first competitor is Humana, which is a health services and insurance provider. The second competitor is Cigna, also a health insurance company.

Vision and Mission Statement

According to the UnitedHealth Group website (2020b, para. 1), their mission is, “Helping people live healthier lives and helping make the health system work better for everyone.” They work to achieve this mission by improving their performance to help the customers that they serve to become healthier individuals. They also partner with health care providers and clinics to provide care at the lowest prices. UHG works to achieve its vision through a unique set of values. UHG’s mission statement is the following:

We seek to enhance the performance of the health system and improve the overall health and wellbeing of the people we are privileged to serve and their communities.

We work with health care professionals and other key partners to expand access to high-quality health care so people get the care they need at an affordable price.

We support the physician/patient relationship and empower people with the information, guidance, and tools they need to make personal health choices and decisions.

This mission statement is listed on the UnitedHealth Group website (2020b, para. 2-4). The firm’s values include Compassion, Integrity, Innovation, Performance, and Relationships (UnitedHealth Group, 2020b). The firm lists these values on their website, but they do not list a vision statement anywhere on their website.