UnitedHealth Pays the Price

In the meantime, the reviewers have also criticized a financial relationship between McGuire and the director most responsible for his compensation package. Notably, McGuire hired Williams Spears -- the chairman of his compensation committee -- to manage tens of millions of dollars held in trusts for his children. McGuire apparently never disclosed that arrangement to the board, let alone to ordinary shareholders.

Both McGuire and Spears have now officially left the board.

Political Fallout

The reviewers stopped short of blaming other board members for the company's problems, however, and seemed to clear Hemsley of any serious misconduct as well. Analysts felt relieved as a result.

"Hemsley has been well known to the market for many years, and his ascension dramatically limits the chaos and uncertainty that would have occurred had United's entire senior management team been pushed out," McDonald noted. "He is widely viewed as having the experience and stature to more than capably run United's operations."

Still, Skolnick points out that Hemsley oversees the very departments that enabled the improper stock-option grants to take place. As such, she says, he hardly looks like "manager of the year" right now.

Of course, Hemsley could inherit plenty of problems even if he survives the management shakeup. Notably, UnitedHealth's high-profile stock-option scandal -- now capped by the ouster of its wealthy CEO -- could seriously damage the company's reputation and threaten its relationship with important clients.