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Protesters outside the Department of Health in Whitehall earlier this year |
US team drafted onto board of firm running GP surgeries
New talent for company claiming to operate differently from parent group
AN influential team of board members working for UnitedHealth Group in the United States have been dispatched overseas to help run its operations in the UK.
Documents stored in Companies House, the official register of UK companies, show three high-profile appointments were made at UnitedHealth UK on May 21.
The private firm – which was controversially hired by Westminster Primary Care Trust to map out a feasibility study for polyclinics in Westminster – now counts Lee Valenta, David Ostler and Brigid Spicola on their board.
The documents also reveal the departure of Dr Richard Smith, the former editor of the British Medical Journal, who has resigned his post as chief executive of the British arm of the company in November and is now working for the firm in America.
The company’s hiring by Westminster Care Trust was mired in controversy with patients arguing that it was a step towards privatisation of the borough’s health services.
Dr Nazeer Ahmed, partner at the Queen’s Park medical centre in Dart Street, has warned the PCT that hiring UnitedHealth is “inappropriate” due to the “unfair advantage” it would give the firm in any future tendering process.
UnitedHealth has asked patients to make a distinction between the operations of its American parent company and how it works here. There have been several mentions of accusations and indictments in the United States that United-Health has faced over health insurance fraud.
The board of UnitedHealth UK (UHUK), until the departure of Richard Smith in November, was almost entirely made up of British members – a formidable group of policy advisers with links to the figures in government.
But the Companies House documents reveal a sweeping American influence.
Mr Valenta and Mr Ostler, formerly chief executive and vice president of Ingenix, an insurance company owned by UnitedHealth, were appointed to the board of the UK operation on May 23. They were joined by Ms Spicola, who worked for UnitedHealth on Ingenix’s work outside the United States.
In a widely reported case in America, Ingenix has been investigated by the country’s top law enforcement official, Andrew Cuomo, who has been looking at how the UnitedHealth Group calculated reimbursement rates for patients making insurance claims.
According to a report by US media giants Bloomberg, the system used by Ingenix saved UnitedHealth $1.3billion in 2007, but Mr Cuomo is seeking to curb the role Ingenix plays in determining patient pay outs.
In a statement released on his official website in February, Mr Cuomo said: “When insurers create convoluted and dishonest systems for determining the rate of reimbursement, real people get stuck with excessive bills and are less likely to seek the care they need.”
Other new faces on the board of the British arm of UnitedHealth are Bryan Johnson, a financial advisor for United Healthcare in Minnesota, and Samuel Ours, former vice president of UH operations in Minneapolis. Both were named UHUK board directors in December 2007 following Dr Richard’s Smith resignation.
A UnitedHealth spokesman said: “We would like to reiterate that UnitedHealthUK is a UK-registered company. UnitedHealth is a successful international healthcare and well being company.
“The combination of this experience and the knowledge and expertise our UK staff have of the NHS means we can make a real contribution to improving health care for NHS patients. The UHUK Leadership Team includes both UK and non-UK personnel.” |
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