UnitedHealth Donates To Proposed UC Medical Schools
UnitedHealth Group is expected to announce on Thursday a $10 million donation to proposed medical schools and the University of California-Riverside and UC-Merced, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The donation is part of an agreement with state regulators related to the health insurer's acquisition of PacifiCare Health Systems. UnitedHealth said it would contribute $50 million to charity as part of the deal.
The money will be equally divided between the two universities over three years (Yi, Los Angeles Times, 7/27). The donations will finance research on strategies to develop the programs and fund faculty salaries (Boyles, Fresno Bee, 7/27).
UC-Riverside plans to establish a medical school by 2012 at a cost of more than $1 billion, pending approval from UC Regents, according to officials. UC-Merced's medical school plans have a similar timeline but no cost estimates, officials said (Los Angeles Times, 7/27).