NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Nov. 19, 2015--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s (United) announcement that its estimated full-year 2015 pretax generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP) earnings will be reduced by $425 million compared with prior expectations will have no impact on ratings. The reduced earnings estimate is primarily driven by higher-than-expected morbidity on United's Affordable Care Act-compliant exchange-compliant products. However, we still expect the company to have a pretax GAAP operating (which excludes realized gains and losses) EBIT return on revenue of 7%-8% in 2015 and 2016, and for the company to reduce its financial leverage to less than 40% during the next 24 months.
