NEW YORK (Standard&Poor's) Aug. 15, 2002--Standard&Poor's Ratings Services said today that it affirmed its single-'A' counterparty credit rating on UnitedHealth Group Inc. (United) and some of its ratings on United subsidiaries because of the companies' very strong business position, good diversification, differentiated positioning, extremely strong earnings profile, very strong financial flexibility, and good statutory capitalization. Standard&Poor's also said that it lowered its ratings on certain United HMOs and insurance companies to reflect a change in Standard&Poor's group methodology criteria. The new criteria limit the amount of support provided to a strategically important subsidiary to within one notch of the parent. Standard&Poor's assessment of the underlying fundamentals for United's operations remains
