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Basis of Presentation (Policy)

12 Months Ended

Dec. 31, 2011

Use of Estimates

These Consolidated Financial Statements include certain amounts based on the Company’s best estimates and judgments. The Company’s most significant estimates relate to medical costs payable and medical costs, premium rebates and risk-sharing provisions related to revenues, valuation and impairment analysis of goodwill and other intangible assets, other policy liabilities, other current receivables, valuation of investments, income taxes and contingent liabilities. These estimates require the application of complex assumptions and judgments, often because they involve matters that are inherently uncertain and will likely change in subsequent periods. The impact of any changes in estimates is included in earnings in the period in which the estimate is adjusted.

Revenue Recognition, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Revenues

Premium revenues are primarily derived from risk-based health insurance arrangements in which the premium is typically at a fixed rate per individual served for a one-year period, and the Company assumes the economic risk of funding its customers' health care and related administrative costs. Effective in 2011, commercial health plans with medical loss ratios on fully insured products, as calculated under the definitions in the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and its related reconciliation act (Health Reform Legislation) and implementing regulations, that fall below certain targets are required to rebate ratable portions of their premiums annually. The Company classifies its estimated rebates as an offset to Premium Revenues in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. Premium revenues are recognized in the period in which eligible individuals are entitled to receive health care benefits. Health care premium payments received from its customers in advance of the service period are recorded as unearned revenues. The Company also records premium revenues from capitation arrangements at its collaborative care businesses.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) deploys a risk adjustment model that apportions premiums paid to all health plans according to health severity and certain demographic factors. The CMS risk adjustment model pays more for members whose medical history indicates they have certain medical conditions. Under this risk adjustment methodology, CMS calculates the risk adjusted premium payment using diagnosis data from hospital inpatient, hospital outpatient and physician treatment settings. The Company and health care providers collect, capture, and submit the necessary and available diagnosis data to CMS within prescribed deadlines. The Company estimates risk adjustment revenues based upon the diagnosis data submitted and expected to be submitted to CMS. Risk adjustment data for certain of the Company's plans is subject to audit by regulators. See Note 12 of Notes to the Consolidated Financial Statements for additional information regarding these audits.

Service revenues consist primarily of fees derived from services performed for customers that self-insure the health care costs of their employees and employees' dependants. Under service fee contracts, the Company recognizes revenue in the period the related services are performed. The customers retain the risk of financing health care costs for their employees and employees' dependants, and the Company administers the payment of customer funds to physicians and other health care professionals from customer-funded bank accounts. As the Company has neither the obligation for funding the health care costs, nor the primary responsibility for providing the medical care, the Company does not recognize premium revenue and medical costs for these contracts in its Consolidated Financial Statements.

For both risk-based and fee-based customer arrangements, the Company provides coordination and facilitation of medical services; transaction processing; customer, consumer and care professional services; and access to contracted networks of physicians, hospitals and other health care professionals. These services are performed throughout the contract period.

For the Company's OptumRx pharmacy benefits management (PBM) business, revenues are derived from products sold through a contracted network of retail pharmacies, and from administrative services, including claims processing and formulary design and management. Product revenues include ingredient costs (net of rebates), a negotiated dispensing fee and customer co-payments for drugs dispensed through the Company's mail-service pharmacy. In retail pharmacy transactions, revenues recognized always exclude the member's applicable co-payment. Product revenues are recognized when the prescriptions are dispensed through the retail network or received by consumers through the Company's mail-service pharmacy. Service revenues are recognized when the prescription claim is adjudicated. The Company has entered into retail service contracts in which it is primarily obligated to pay its network pharmacy providers for benefits provided to their customers regardless if the Company is paid. The Company is also involved in establishing the prices charged by retail pharmacies, determining which drugs will be included in formulary listings and selecting which retail pharmacies will be included in the network offered to plan sponsors' members. As a result, revenues are reported on a gross basis.

Medical Costs And Medical Costs Payable Policy [Policy Text Block]

Medical Costs and Medical Costs Payable

Medical costs and medical costs payable include estimates of the Company's obligations for medical care services that have been rendered on behalf of insured consumers, but for which claims have either not yet been received or processed, and for liabilities for physician, hospital and other medical cost disputes. The Company develops estimates for medical costs incurred but not reported using an actuarial process that is consistently applied, centrally controlled and automated. The actuarial models consider factors such as time from date of service to claim receipt, claim processing backlogs, care provider contract rate changes, medical care consumption and other medical cost trends. The Company estimates liabilities for physician, hospital and other medical cost disputes based upon an analysis of potential outcomes, assuming a combination of litigation and settlement strategies. Each period, the Company re-examines previously established medical costs payable estimates based on actual claim submissions and other changes in facts and circumstances. As the medical costs payable estimates recorded in prior periods develop, the Company adjusts the amount of the estimates and includes the changes in estimates in medical costs in the period in which the change is identified. Medical costs also include the direct cost of patient care rendered through OptumHealth.

Cash and Cash Equivalents, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Cash, Cash Equivalents and Investments

Cash and cash equivalents are highly liquid investments that have an original maturity of three months or less. The fair value of cash and cash equivalents approximates their carrying value because of the short maturity of the instruments.

The Company had checks outstanding in excess of bank deposits at the related accounts of $1.5 billion as of December 31, 2011 and $1.3 billion as of December 31, 2010, which were classified as Accounts Payable and Accrued Liabilities in the Consolidated Balance Sheets and the change in this balance has been reflected as Checks Outstanding in Excess of Bank Deposits within financing activities in the Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. The Company does not net checks outstanding with deposits in other accounts.

Investments with maturities of less than one year are classified as short-term. Because of regulatory requirements, certain investments are included in long-term investments regardless of their maturity date. The Company classifies these investments as held-to-maturity and reports them at amortized cost. Substantially all other investments are classified as available-for-sale and reported at fair value based on quoted market prices, where available.

The Company excludes unrealized gains and losses on investments in available-for-sale securities from earnings and reports them, net of income tax effects, as a separate component of shareholders' equity. To calculate realized gains and losses on the sale of investments, the Company uses the specific cost or amortized cost of each investment sold.

The Company evaluates an investment for impairment by considering the length of time and extent to which market value has been less than cost or amortized cost, the financial condition and near-term prospects of the issuer as well as specific events or circumstances that may influence the operations of the issuer and the Company's intent to sell the security or the likelihood that it will be required to sell the security before recovery of the entire amortized cost.

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For debt securities, if the Company intends to either sell or determines that it will be more likely than not be required to sell a security before recovery of the entire amortized cost basis or maturity of the security, the Company recognizes the entire impairment in Investment and Other Income. If the Company does not intend to sell the debt security and it determines that it will not be more likely than not be required to sell the security but it does not expect to recover the entire amortized cost basis, the impairment is bifurcated into the amount attributed to the credit loss, which is recognized in earnings, and all other causes, which are recognized in other comprehensive income.

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For equity securities, the Company recognizes impairments in other comprehensive income if it expects to hold the security until fair value increases to at least the security's cost basis and it expects that increase in fair value to occur in a reasonably forecasted period. If the Company intends to sell the equity security or if it believes that recovery of fair value to cost will not occur in a reasonably forecasted period, the Company recognizes the impairment in Investment and Other Income.

New information and the passage of time can change these judgments. The Company manages its investment portfolio to limit its exposure to any one issuer or market sector, and largely limits its investments to U.S. government and agency securities; state and municipal securities; mortgage-backed securities; and corporate debt obligations, substantially all of investment grade quality. Securities downgraded below policy minimums after purchase will be disposed of in accordance with the investment policy.

Assets Under Management Policy [Policy Text Block]

Assets Under Management

The Company provides health insurance products and services to members of AARP under a Supplemental Health Insurance Program (the AARP Program), and to AARP members and non-members under separate Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D arrangements. The products and services under the AARP Program include supplemental Medicare benefits (AARP Medicare Supplement Insurance), hospital indemnity insurance, including insurance for individuals between 50 to 64 years of age, and other related products.

The Company's arrangements with AARP extend to December 31, 2017 for the AARP Program and give the Company an exclusive right to use the AARP brand on the Company's Medicare Advantage and Medicare Part D offerings until December 31, 2014, subject to certain limited exclusions.

Pursuant to the Company's agreement, AARP Program assets are managed separately from its general investment portfolio and are used to pay costs associated with the AARP Program. These assets are invested at the Company's discretion, within investment guidelines approved by AARP. The Company does not guarantee any rates of return on these investments and, upon transfer of the AARP Program contract to another entity, the Company would transfer cash equal in amount to the fair value of these investments at the date of transfer to that entity. Because the purpose of these assets is to fund the medical costs payable, the rate stabilization fund (RSF) liabilities and other related liabilities associated with this AARP contract, assets under management are classified as current assets, consistent with the classification of these liabilities. Interest earnings and realized investment gains and losses on these assets accrue to the overall benefit of the AARP policyholders through the RSF. Accordingly, they are not included in the Company's earnings. Interest income and realized gains and losses related to assets under management are recorded as an increase to the RSF and were $99 million, $107 million and $99 million in 2011, 2010 and 2009, respectively.

The effects of changes in balance sheet amounts associated with the AARP Program also accrue to the overall benefit of the AARP policyholders through the RSF balance. Accordingly, the Company excludes the effect of such changes in its Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows. For more detail on the RSF, see "Other Policy Liabilities" below.

Receivables, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Other Current Receivables

Other current receivables include amounts due from pharmaceutical manufacturers for rebates and Medicare Part D drug discounts, reinsurance and other miscellaneous amounts due to the Company.

The Company's PBM businesses contract with pharmaceutical manufacturers, some of whom provide rebates based on use of the manufacturers' products by its PBM businesses' affiliated and non-affiliated clients. The Company accrues rebates as they are earned by its clients on a monthly basis based on the terms of the applicable contracts, historical data and current estimates. The PBM businesses bill these rebates to the manufacturers on a monthly or quarterly basis depending on the contractual terms. The PBM businesses record rebates attributable to affiliated clients as a reduction to medical costs. Rebates attributable to non-affiliated clients are accrued as rebates receivable and a reduction of cost of products sold with a corresponding payable for the amounts of the rebates to be remitted to non-affiliated clients in accordance with their contracts and recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Operations as a reduction of Product Revenue. The Company generally receives rebates from two to five months after billing.

For details on the Company's Medicare Part D receivables see “Medicare Part D Pharmacy Benefits” below.

For details on the Company's reinsurance receivable see “Future Policy Benefits and Reinsurance Receivable” below

Medicare Part D Policy [Policy Text Block]

Medicare Part D Pharmacy Benefits

The Company serves as a plan sponsor offering Medicare Part D prescription drug insurance coverage under contracts with CMS. Under the Medicare Part D program, there are seven separate elements of payment received by the Company during the plan year. These payment elements are as follows:


•	CMS Premium. CMS pays a fixed monthly premium per member to the Company for the entire plan year.


•	Member Premium. Additionally, certain members pay a fixed monthly premium to the Company for the entire plan year.


•	Low-Income Premium Subsidy. For qualifying low-income members, CMS pays some or all of the member's monthly premiums to the Company on the member's behalf.


•	Catastrophic Reinsurance Subsidy. CMS pays the Company a cost reimbursement estimate monthly to fund the CMS obligation to pay approximately 80% of the costs incurred by individual members in excess of the individual annual out-of-pocket maximum. A settlement is made with CMS based on actual cost experience, after the end of the plan year.

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Low-Income Member Cost Sharing Subsidy. For qualifying low-income members, CMS pays on the member's behalf some or all of a member's cost sharing amounts, such as deductibles and coinsurance. The cost sharing subsidy is funded by CMS through monthly payments to the Company. The Company administers and pays the subsidized portion of the claims on behalf of CMS, and a settlement payment is made between CMS and the Company based on actual claims and premium experience, after the end of the plan year.

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CMS Risk-Share. Premiums from CMS are subject to risk corridor provisions that compare costs targeted in the Company's annual bids by product and region to actual prescription drug costs, limited to actual costs that would have been incurred under the standard coverage as defined by CMS. Variances of more than 5% above or below the original bid submitted by the Company may result in CMS making additional payments to the Company or require the Company to refund to CMS a portion of the premiums it received. The Company estimates and recognizes an adjustment to premium revenues related to the risk corridor payment settlement based upon pharmacy claims experience. The estimate of the settlement associated with these risk corridor provisions requires the Company to consider factors that may not be certain, including member eligibility status differences with CMS. The Company records risk-share adjustments to Premium Revenues in the Consolidated Statements of Operations and Other Policy Liabilities or Other Current Receivables in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

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Drug Discount. Beginning in 2011, Health Reform Legislation mandated a consumer discount of 50% on brand name prescription drugs for Part D plan participants in the coverage gap. This discount is funded by CMS and pharmaceutical manufacturers while the Company administers the application of these funds. Amounts received are not reflected as premium revenues, but rather are accounted for as deposits. The Company records a liability when amounts are received from CMS and a receivable when the Company bills the pharmaceutical manufacturers. Related cash flows are presented as Customer Funds Administered within financing activities in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

The CMS Premium, the Member Premium, and the Low-Income Premium Subsidy represent payments for the Company's insurance risk coverage under the Medicare Part D program and therefore are recorded as Premium Revenues in the Consolidated Statements of Operations. Premium revenues are recognized ratably over the period in which eligible individuals are entitled to receive prescription drug benefits. The Company records premium payments received in advance of the applicable service period in Unearned Revenues in the Consolidated Balance Sheets.

The Catastrophic Reinsurance Subsidy and the Low-Income Member Cost Sharing Subsidy (Subsidies) represent cost reimbursements under the Medicare Part D program. Amounts received for these Subsidies are not reflected as premium revenues, but rather are accounted for as receivables and/or deposits. Related cash flows are presented as Customer Funds Administered within financing activities in the Condensed Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows.

Pharmacy benefit costs and administrative costs under the contract are expensed as incurred and are recognized in Medical Costs and Operating Costs, respectively, in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

The final 2011 risk-share amount is expected to be settled during the second half of 2012, and is subject to the reconciliation process with CMS.

The Consolidated Balance Sheets include the following amounts associated with the Medicare Part D program:



	December 31, 2011						December 31, 2010
(in millions)	Subsidies		Drug Discount		Risk-Share		Subsidies		Risk-Share
Other current receivables	$	—	$	509	$	—	$	—	$	—
Other policy liabilities	70		649		170		475		265

As of January 1, 2012, certain changes were made to the Medicare Part D coverage by CMS, including:


	The initial coverage limit increased to $2,930 from $2,840 in 2011.


	The catastrophic coverage begins at $6,658 as compared to $6,448 in 2011.


	The annual out-of-pocket maximum increased to $4,700 from $4,550 in 2011.

Property, Plant and Equipment, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Property, Equipment and Capitalized Software

Property, equipment and capitalized software are stated at cost, net of accumulated depreciation and amortization. Capitalized software consists of certain costs incurred in the development of internal-use software, including external direct costs of materials and services and payroll costs of employees devoted to specific software development. The Company reviews property, equipment and capitalized software for events or changes in circumstances that would indicate that it might not recover their carrying value. If the Company determines that an asset may not be recoverable, an impairment charge is recorded.

The Company calculates depreciation and amortization using the straight-line method over the estimated useful lives of the assets. The useful lives for property, equipment and capitalized software are:



Furniture, fixtures and equipment	3 to 7 years
Buildings	35 to 40 years
Leasehold improvements	7 years or length of lease term, whichever is shorter
Capitalized software	3 to 5 years

Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Goodwill, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Goodwill

Goodwill represents the amount of the purchase price in excess of the fair values assigned to the underlying identifiable net assets of acquired businesses. Goodwill is not amortized, but is subject to an annual impairment test. Tests are performed more frequently if events occur or circumstances change that would more likely than not reduce the fair value of the reporting unit below its carrying amount.

To determine whether goodwill is impaired, the Company performs a multi-step impairment test. First, the Company can elect to perform a qualitative assessment of each reporting unit to determine whether facts and circumstances support a determination that their fair values are greater than their carrying values. If the qualitative analysis is not conclusive, or if the Company elects to proceed directly with quantitative testing, it will then measure the fair values of the reporting units and compare them to their aggregate carrying values, including goodwill. If the fair value is less than the carrying value of the reporting unit, then the implied value of goodwill would be calculated and compared to the carrying amount of goodwill to determine whether goodwill is impaired.

The Company estimates the fair values of its reporting units using discounted cash flows. To determine fair values, the Company must make assumptions about a wide variety of internal and external factors. Significant assumptions used in the impairment analysis include financial projections of free cash flow (including significant assumptions about operations, capital requirements and income taxes), long-term growth rates for determining terminal value, and discount rates.

The Company elected to bypass the optional qualitative reporting-unit fair value assessment and completed its annual quantitative test for goodwill impairment as of January 1, 2012. As of December 31, 2011, no reporting unit had a fair value less than its carrying value and the Company concluded that there was no need for any impairment of its goodwill balances.

Goodwill and Intangible Assets, Intangible Assets, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Intangible assets

Finite-lived, separately-identifiable intangible assets are acquired in business combinations and are assets that represent future expected benefits but lack physical substance (e.g., membership lists, customer contracts, trademarks and technology). The Company does not have material holdings of indefinite lived intangible assets. The Company's intangible assets are initially recorded at their fair values and are then amortized over their expected useful lives.

The Company's intangible assets are subject to impairment tests when events or circumstances indicate that a finite-lived intangible asset's (or asset group's) carrying value may exceed its estimated fair value. Consideration is given to a number of potential impairment indicators. Following the identification of any potential impairment indicators, to determine whether an impairment exists, the Company would calculate the estimated fair value of a finite-lived intangible asset using the undiscounted cash flows that are expected to result from the use of the asset or related group of assets. Once it is determined that an impairment exists, the amount by which the carrying value exceeds the estimated fair value is recorded as an impairment.

There were no material impairments of finite-lived intangible assets during the year ended December 31, 2011

Other Policy Liabilities [Policy Text Block]

Other Policy Liabilities

Other policy liabilities include the RSF associated with the AARP Program (described below), health savings account deposits, deposits under the Medicare Part D program (see “Medicare Part D Pharmacy Benefits” above), accruals for premium rebate payments under the Health Reform Legislation, the current portion of future policy benefits and customer balances. Customer balances represent excess customer payments and deposit accounts under experience-rated contracts. At the customer's option, these balances may be refunded or used to pay future premiums or claims under eligible contracts.

Underwriting gains or losses related to the AARP Program are directly recorded as an increase or decrease to the RSF and accrue to the overall benefit of the AARP policyholders, unless cumulative net losses were to exceed the balance in the RSF. The primary components of the underwriting results are premium revenue, medical costs, investment income, administrative expenses, member service expenses, marketing expenses and premium taxes. To the extent underwriting losses exceed the balance in the RSF, losses would be borne by the Company. Deficits may be recovered by underwriting gains in future periods of the contract. To date, the Company has not been required to fund any underwriting deficits. Changes in the RSF are reported in Medical Costs in the Consolidated Statement of Operations. As of December 31, 2011 and 2010, the balance in the RSF was $1.3 billion. The Company believes the RSF balance as of December 31, 2011 is sufficient to cover potential future underwriting and other risks and liabilities associated with the contract.

Income Tax, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Income Taxes

Deferred income tax assets and liabilities are recognized for the differences between the financial and income tax reporting bases of assets and liabilities based on enacted tax rates and laws. The deferred income tax provision or benefit generally reflects the net change in deferred income tax assets and liabilities during the year, excluding any deferred income tax assets and liabilities of acquired businesses. The current income tax provision reflects the tax consequences of revenues and expenses currently taxable or deductible on various income tax returns for the year reported.

Future Policy Benefits And Reinsurance Receivables Policy [Policy Text Block]

Future Policy Benefits and Reinsurance Receivable

Future policy benefits represent account balances that accrue to the benefit of the policyholders, excluding surrender charges, for universal life and investment annuity products and for long-duration health policies sold to individuals for which some of the premium received in the earlier years is intended to pay benefits to be incurred in future years. As a result of the 2005 sale of the life and annuity business within the Company's Golden Rule Financial Corporation subsidiary under an indemnity reinsurance arrangement, the Company has maintained a liability associated with the reinsured contracts, as it remains primarily liable to the policyholders, and has recorded a corresponding reinsurance receivable due from the purchaser. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had an aggregate $1.9 billion reinsurance receivable, of which $125 million was recorded in Other Current Receivables and $1.8 billion was recorded in Other Assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. As of December 31, 2010, the Company had an aggregate $2.0 billion reinsurance receivable, of which $126 million was recorded in Other Current Receivables and $1.9 billion was recorded in Other Assets in the Consolidated Balance Sheets. The Company evaluates the financial condition of the reinsurer and only records the reinsurance receivable to the extent of probable recovery. Currently, the reinsurer is rated by A.M. Best as “A+.”

Policy Acquisition Costs, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Policy Acquisition Costs

The Company's short duration health insurance contracts typically have a one-year term and may be cancelled by the customer with at least 30 days notice. Costs related to the acquisition and renewal of short duration customer contracts are charged to expense as incurred.

Earnings Per Share, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Net Earnings Per Common Share

The Company computes basic net earnings per common share by dividing net earnings by the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period. The Company determines diluted net earnings per common share using the weighted-average number of common shares outstanding during the period, adjusted for potentially dilutive shares associated with stock options, stock-settled stock appreciation rights (SARs) and restricted stock and restricted stock units (collectively, restricted shares), using the treasury stock method. The treasury stock method assumes exercise of stock options and vesting of restricted shares, with the assumed proceeds used to purchase common stock at the average market price for the period. The difference between the number of shares assumed issued and number of shares assumed purchased represents the dilutive shares

Recent Issued Accounting Standards [Text Block]

Recent Accounting Standards

Recently Issued Accounting Standards. In July 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) No. 2011-06, “Other Expenses (Topic 720): Fees Paid to the Federal Government by Health Insurers a consensus of the FASB Emerging Issues Task Force” (ASU 2011-06). This update addresses the recognition and classification of an entity's share of the annual health insurance industry assessment (the fee) mandated by Health Reform Legislation. The fee will be levied on health insurers for each calendar year beginning on or after January 1, 2014 and is not deductible for income tax purposes. The fee will be allocated to health insurers based on the ratio of an entity's net health premiums written during the preceding calendar year to the total health insurance for any U.S. health risk that is written during the preceding calendar year. In accordance with the amendments in ASU 2011-06, the liability for the fee will be estimated and recorded in full once the Company provides qualifying health insurance in the applicable calendar year in which the fee is payable (first applicable in 2014) with a corresponding deferred cost that will be amortized to expense using a straight-line method of allocation unless another method better allocates the fee over the calendar year that it is payable.

Recently Adopted Accounting Standards. In September 2011, the FASB issued ASU No. 2011-08, “Intangibles - Goodwill and Other (Topic 350): Testing Goodwill for Impairment” (ASU 2011-08). This update intends to simplify how entities test goodwill for impairment by including an option for entities to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount as a basis for determining whether it is necessary to perform the two-step goodwill impairment test on the subject reporting unit. The Company adopted the amendments in ASU 2011-08 for its annual goodwill impairment test as of January 1, 2012. The adoption of ASU 2011-08 did not have a material impact on the Company's Consolidated Financial Statements.

The Company has determined that there have been no other recently issued or adopted accounting standards that will have or had a material impact on its Consolidated Financial Statements.

Fair Value [Policy Text Block]

Certain assets and liabilities are measured at fair value in the financial statements. These assets and liabilities are classified into one of three levels of a hierarchy defined by U.S. GAAP. In instances in which the inputs used to measure fair value fall into different levels of the fair value hierarchy, the fair value measurement has been determined based on the lowest level input that is significant to the fair value measurement in its entirety. The Company’s assessment of the significance of a particular item to the fair value measurement in its entirety requires judgment, including the consideration of inputs specific to the asset or liability.

The fair value hierarchy is summarized as follows:

Level 1 — Quoted (unadjusted) prices for identical assets/liabilities in active markets.

Level 2 — Other observable inputs, either directly or indirectly, including:


•	Quoted prices for similar assets/liabilities in active markets;


•	Quoted prices for identical or similar assets in non-active markets (e.g., few transactions, limited information, non-current prices, high variability over time);


•	Inputs other than quoted prices that are observable for the asset/liability (e.g., interest rates, yield curves, volatilities, default rates); and


•	Inputs that are derived principally from or corroborated by other observable market data.

Level 3 — Unobservable inputs that cannot be corroborated by observable market data.

Derivatives, Policy [Policy Text Block]

During 2010, the Company entered into interest rate swap contracts to convert a portion of its interest rate exposure from fixed to floating rates. The interest rate swap contracts were benchmarked to LIBOR and were utilized to more closely align interest expense with interest income received on the Company's cash equivalent and investment balances. The swaps were designated as fair value hedges on fixed-rate debt issues maturing between November 2012 through March 2016 and June 2017 through October 2020. Since the specific terms and notional amounts of the swaps matched those of the debt being hedged, they were assumed to be highly effective hedges and all changes in fair value of the swaps were recorded on the Consolidated Balance Sheets with no net impact recorded in the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

Stockholders' Equity, Policy [Policy Text Block]

Regulatory Capital and Dividend Restrictions

The Company's regulated subsidiaries are subject to regulations and standards in their respective states of domicile. Most of these regulations and standards conform to those established by the National Association of Insurance Commissioners. These standards, among other things, require these subsidiaries to maintain specified levels of statutory capital, as defined by each state, and restrict the timing and amount of dividends and other distributions that may be paid to their parent companies. Except in the case of extraordinary dividends, these standards generally permit dividends to be paid from statutory unassigned surplus of the regulated subsidiary and are limited based on the regulated subsidiary's level of statutory net income and statutory capital and surplus. These dividends are referred to as “ordinary dividends” and generally can be paid without prior regulatory approval. If the dividend, together with other dividends paid within the preceding twelve months, exceeds a specified statutory limit or is paid from sources other than earned surplus, it is generally considered an “extraordinary dividend” and must receive prior regulatory approval.

In 2011, based on the 2010 statutory net income and statutory capital and surplus levels, the maximum amount of ordinary dividends which could be paid was $3.4 billion. For the year ended December 31, 2011, the Company's regulated subsidiaries paid their parent companies dividends of $4.5 billion, including $1.1 billion of extraordinary dividends. For the year ended December 31, 2010, the Company's regulated subsidiaries paid their parent companies dividends of $3.2 billion, including $686 million of extraordinary dividends. As of December 31, 2011, $1.6 billion of the Company's $9.4 billion of cash and cash equivalents was held by non-regulated entities.

The Company's regulated subsidiaries had estimated aggregate statutory capital and surplus of approximately $12 billion as of December 31, 2011; regulated entity statutory capital exceeded state minimum capital requirements.

OptumHealth Bank must meet minimum requirements for Tier 1 leverage capital, Tier 1 risk-based capital, and Total risk-based capital of the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) to be considered “Well Capitalized” under the capital adequacy rules to which it is subject. At December 31, 2011, the Company believes that OptumHealth Bank met the FDIC requirements to be considered “Well Capitalized”.

Share Repurchase Program

Under its Board of Directors’ authorization, the Company maintains a share repurchase program. The objectives of the share repurchase program are to optimize the Company’s capital structure and cost of capital, thereby improving returns to shareholders, as well as to offset the dilutive impact of share-based awards. Repurchases may be made from time to time in open market purchases or other types of transactions (including prepaid or structured share repurchase programs), subject to certain Board restrictions. In May 2011, the Board renewed the Company’s share repurchase program with an authorization to repurchase up to 110 million shares of its common stock. During 2011, the Company repurchased 65 million shares at an average price of approximately $46 per share and an aggregate cost of $3.0 billion. As of December 31, 2011, the Company had Board authorization to purchase up to an additional 65 million shares of its common stock.

Dividends

In May 2011, the Company’s Board of Directors increased the Company’s cash dividend to shareholders to an annual dividend rate of $0.65 per share, paid quarterly. Since June 2010, the Company had paid a quarterly dividend of $0.125 per share. Declaration and payment of future quarterly dividends is at the discretion of the Board and may be adjusted as business needs or market conditions change. On February 8, 2012, the Company's Board of Directors approved a quarterly dividend of $0.1625 per share.

The Company recognizes compensation expense for share-based awards, including stock options, SARs and restricted shares, on a straight-line basis over the related service period (generally the vesting period) of the award, or to an employee’s eligible retirement date under the award agreement, if earlier.