Richard T. Burke

Richard T. Burke is a businessman and the founder of UnitedHealth Group, a large managed healthcare and insurance company. He has been characterized as both a "visionary" and "personifying what was wrong with managed care." Burke was also an avid hockey fan and was responsible for the Winnipeg Jets move to become the Arizona Coyotes. Personal life Burke married at least three times. He was married first to Juanita and divorced in 1979. He then married Michelle and divorced her in 1989. UnitedHealth Burke founded UnitedHealth Group and played a significant role in the development of the HMO and Physicians Health Plan (PHP) while he worked at InterStudy, a think tank focused on health care with Dr. Paul M. Ellwood Jr. Burke took the view that healthcare should be economized and hospital admissions should be limited, sometimes at the protest of doctors. UnitedHealth and PHP controversy In 1984 UnitedHealth took a loan from PHP to pay some expenses in exchange for future stock. Then in reverse PHP promised 15-17% of its profits over 25 years to UnitedHealth in exchange for some of its future stock. Around the same time PHP cut doctors salaries significantly to pay bills. Various suits were filed by both the doctors and PHP. Burke was in an executive positions in both companies and some felt that he had misused his position in both companies for personal gain. Others felt it was antithetical for Burke to hold competing interests as members of both boards; as a member of the UnitedHealthcare board, he sought profitability and as a member of the PHP board he tried to lower costs. After time, the matter was resolved in 1987 by a mediator and Burke left prominent roles in the companies over the next few years.