unh112509
On the homepage
Scanners
Out There
Gas lines
Club Outdoors
UnitedHealth buys business that provides employee aid
Print this story
E-mail this story
Save to del.icio.us
Share on Facebook
Share on Digg
Minnesota business by the numbers
See Minnesota's top earning companies, CEOs and non-profits
More from Business
A UnitedHealth Group subsidiary is buying PPC Worldwide, a U.K.-based provider of employee-assistance programs, for an undisclosed sum.
OptumHealth, UnitedHealth's wellness subsidiary, has used PPC as a vendor for international services since 2005.
OptumHealth is based in Minnetonka; PPC is based in Oxford, England. OptumHealth serves 1,579 clients with a total of 16.4 million employees. PPC serves 3,000 clients with a total of 3 million employees.
Employee-assistance programs help employees and families deal with stress, anxiety, depression and other personal problems. Started in the 1970s, the programs initially tackled alcoholism but broadened in the 1980s to include stress and marital issues.
On average, 6 percent of employees in a company use the programs in any given year, said Gene Baker, vice president of OptumHealth's employee-assistance programs.
The PPC acquisition will enable OptumHealth to provide more services to multinational corporations that station employees abroad, Baker said.
CHEN MAY YEE
Recent Business stories
Job openings fell by nearly one-quarter last year as layoffs also soared - November 24, 2009
Job openings fell by nearly one-quarter last year as layoffs also soared - Finding a job got much tougher last year, as the number of available openings fell by nearly one quarter. More
- HR and Facebook: It's complicated
- Recall erodes Toyota trust, resale prices
- Hacker attacks Ceridian; data from 27,000 at risk
- World's tallest tower closed a month after opening
- Software firm struggles to break into the big leagues
- Obama says both sides have to give on health care
- Jury acquits ex-Nevada sheriff's deputy of bribery charges in 'Girls Gone Wild' case
Comment on this story | Be the first to comment | Hide reader comments