Best Health Plan Provider

2008 NET INCOME: $2.97 billion

EMPLOYEES: 75,000

While Congress debates how to fix the nation's health care system, Minnetonka, Minn.-based UnitedHealthcare has been trying out a few ideas of its own.

Among other things, the insurer joined forces earlier this year with San Jose, Calif.-based Cisco Systems Inc. to develop mobile medical units to bring much-needed health care services to underserved rural and remote communities utilizing Cisco's teleconferencing technology.

As a longtime supporter of the basic tenets of consumer-driven health care, the insurer also introduced a diabetes health plan this year to help employers address the escalating expense of diabetes care by providing patients with financial rewards for getting recommended preventive care, such as having regular blood sugar checks, routine exams and preventive screenings.

Last summer, UnitedHealth launched Health Heroes, a health literacy program that awards grants to elementary schools to fund programs to combat the growing epidemic of childhood obesity.

And since the beginning of this year, UnitedHealth has collaborated with Armonk, N.Y.-based IBM Corp. in Arizona to test a new care coordination and reimbursement model, called the Patient-Centered Medical Home, advocated by many health care reformers.

Because of its ongoing investments in innovation and dedication to customer service, UnitedHealth was selected the best health plan provider in Business Insurance's 2009 Readers Choice Awards.

“What we are creating is a culture of innovation that's really focused on taking the power of information to help employers, doctors and individuals make better health care decisions,” said Austin Pittman, UnitedHealth's chief growth officer. “We have a very serious commitment to service.”

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