UnitedHealth Workers Get Critical on Care

Other companies have not gone quite so far. Today, Richard says, more than 140 major companies offer UnitedHealth's CDHPs. However, he adds, the vast majority of those still allow their employees to enroll in more traditional plans if they want.

A pattern emerged when federal employees faced such a choice. Those who favored CDHPs most were relatively young males -- with high incomes -- who enrolled in individual rather than family plans.

"Although the first-year enrollment in [Federal Employees Benefits Program high-deductible health plans] may not predict future trends, it does raise the possibility that individuals with certain demographic characteristics may be disproportionately attracted to these plans," the General Accounting Office (GAO) reported in January. "For example, first-year HDHP enrollees had consistently higher incomes across all age groups than enrollees of another new plan and all FEHBP enrollees. This may suggest that aspects of HDHPs -- such as the greater financial exposure coupled with the potential for tax-advantaged savings -- uniquely attracted higher-income individuals with the means to pay."

'Compare and Contrast'

McGuire could satisfy even the maximum $10,000 spending limit under CDHPs by working a few short hours.

Last year, McGuire collected $8 million -- or more than $150,000 a week -- in salary and bonuses alone. Moreover, he picked up 1.3 million stock options that could be worth far more than that down the road. Meanwhile, four of his highest-ranking colleagues raked in another 900,000 options combined.

In contrast, a recent company filing indicates, 14,000 other UnitedHealth employees received an average of 1,700 options apiece. And the remaining 41,000 employees apparently received no options at all.

Yet, every UnitedHealth employee faced the same health insurance choices -- each one featuring potentially higher out-of-pocket expenses than the plans they had before.

"I understand the compare and contrast," says CRT Capital analyst Sheryl Skolnick, who has a buy recommendation on UnitedHealth's stock. "They're thinking, 'We've worked so hard, and the company has done so well.' And when you tell people something is going to cost them more, it can make them very upset."