shareholders

Embattled UnitedHealth CEO William McGuire said he doesn't think his $1.6 billion stock option package hurt either customers or patients. McGuire told reporters on Sunday that his compensation package did not come at the expense of affordable healthcare. UnitedHealth shareholders are scheduled to vote for the company's directors at its annual meeting Tuesday. A number of critics have called on shareholders not to re-elect those responsible for McGuire's package.

Earlier today …

Under pressure from major shareholders, the United Health Group said it will adopt new corporate governance rules. The changes are designed to limit the power of individual board members and increase organizational transparency. The Minnesota-based health plan has faced mounting problems since The Wall Street Journal ran a series of critical articles challenging the company's compensation practices for top management. Attention has focused on CEO Dr. William McGuire, who the …

Last week FierceHealthcare reported that hospital chain Lifepoint's desire to buy four hospitals in West Virginia and one in Virginia from competitor HCA had caused shareholder Accipiter Capital Management to go public with its opposition. Today comes news that the deal is being modified and will not close as expected. At least one of the hospitals has outstanding malpractice problems, and the shareholders were not happy with their overall financial performance. It's unclear if …

VISICU, the maker of remote monitoring systems for intensive care units, turned a profit of $10 million on revenues of $18 million last year according to a filing with the SEC. That performance was a marked improvement over a year earlier, when the company lost $4 million. VISICU, which is known for its eICU system and is considered a market leader, plans to go public later this year. The company expects shares to go for between $11 and $13. VISICU was founded by Dr. Brian Rosenfeld and …

Drug giant Johnson & Johnson announced this morning that it has reached an agreement with Guidant which will allow the two companies to complete their merger. Under the new terms, J&J will pay $21.5 billion for the Indianapolis-based device maker. Previously J&J threatened to break off the deal completely, arguing that a series of recalls had an "adverse material impact on the company's value." The new deal values Guidant at $63.08 per share, a price closer to what J&J had …

WellPoint said its profits have nearly doubled as a result of its merger last year with Anthem. The giant health plan announced stellar numbers today, with net income up 164 percent to $640 million. The insurer said its sales more than doubled, rising to $11.3 billion from $4.8 billion. It wasn't enough for Wall Street, however, which was looking for more. WellPoint shares were down 3% in morning trading.

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As expected, ex-HealthSouth CEO Richard Scrushy appears to be moving quickly on his plan to get his old job back. The Wall Street Journal reports that Scrushy plans to contact large shareholders in an effort to convince them he should be brought back on. The HealthSouth board has said it has no intention of allowing him to return. At an investor meeting in New York, current CEO Jay Grinney attempted to reassure shareholders saying, "the board has made it absolutely clear he will …

Healthsouth CEO Richard Scrushy has just been found not guilty on 36 counts of orchestrating one of the largest frauds in the history of American healthcare. For nearly a decade HealthSouth misstated earnings and revenues by up to $3.9 billion. Shareholders saw their stock value obliterated when the fraud was discovered in 2003, and Scrushy was one of the first CEOs tried under the new Sarbanes-Oxley regulations.

In deeply related news, HealthSouth filed restated earnings …

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