UnitedHealth Executive Works To Improve Firm’s Public Image
UnitedHealth Group executive Lois Quam, who oversees the company's Medicare and Medicaid businesses, "will play a key role in an effort to restore shine to the company's public image," the Wall Street Journal reports.
Quam's efforts will include promoting the firm's health initiatives and strengthening relations with government officials, consumer groups and media (Fuhrmans, Wall Street Journal, 12/11).
Former UnitedHealth CEO William McGuire in October agreed to resign after the release of a report -- part of an internal investigation conducted by the law firm Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr at the request of the UnitedHealth board -- that found he likely received $1.5 million in backdated stock options. Stephen Hemsley, who earlier this month replaced McGuire as UnitedHealth CEO, announced plans to group the company health care and insurance divisions into three segments led by Quam and two other recently promoted executives. Hemsley named Quam as the president of the new Public and Senior Markets Group and the main UnitedHealth spokesperson (American Health Line, 12/4).
Quam said that she considers the recent scrutiny and problems UnitedHealth has faced over the allegations of backdated stock options "as an opportunity to apologize on behalf of the company" (Wall Street Journal, 12/11).