NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) April 26, 2004--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it affirmed its 'A' counterparty credit rating on UnitedHealth Group Inc. (NYSE:UNH) after UNH announced that it plans to acquire Oxford Health Plans Inc. (Oxford) (NYSE:OHP). The outlook on UNH remains stable. Standard&Poor's also said that it placed its 'BB+' counterparty credit rating on Oxford and its 'BBB+' counterparty credit and financial strength ratings on Oxford Health Plans (NY) Inc. on CreditWatch with positive implications. "UNH's plan to acquire Oxford, a transaction valued at $5 billion, will not affect the ratings on UNH but does have a degree of acquisition risk because of increasing goodwill and operations integration," noted Standard&Poor's credit
