NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Nov. 7, 2011--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it assigned its 'A-' senior unsecured debt rating to UnitedHealth Group Inc.'s (NYSE:UNH) planned issuance of $1.25 billion in senior unsecured notes. The issuance will consist of a mix of five-year, 10-year, and 30-year maturities. The rating on the new issuance reflects UnitedHealth's very strong competitive position, strong earnings and cash flow profile, and strong liquidity and financial flexibility. Offsetting factors include UnitedHealth's exposure to moderately elevated industry risk that we expect to persist through 2012, increased potential for prospective margin compression, and modest tangible net equity. We expect UnitedHealth to use the offering proceeds primarily to refinance commercial paper. We believe this effective restructuring
