The affect of economic downturn has rubbed off even on US' biggest health insurer by market value - UnitedHealth Group Inc - as it announced a 40 percent fall in profits during its fourth quarter! Amid recession, which took away medical coverage from more Americans, the insurer had to spend a handsome amount towards the settlement of some litigation charges.

From its lucrative employer-sponsored health plans, wherein the financial risk of paying claims in borne by the insurer, UnitedHealth lost 445,000 customers in during the year; a substantial 35,000 customers lost in the fourth quarter alone.

The company's medical care ratio - which measures the total premium revenue spending on medical costs - deteriorated to 80.8 percent from the earlier year's 79.9 percent. For some plans for seniors as well as employers, premium rates showed a much slower increase vis-a-vis the medical costs.

In a statement on Business Wire, the Minnetonka, Minnesota-based insurer said that its fourth-quarter net income plunged to $726 million - or 60 cents per share - from the previous year's same quarter figures of $1.22 billion - or 92 cents per share.

Excluding the $350 million the company spent in legal settlements at a charge of 18 cents per share, the earnings were 78 cents per share, which was more or less the figure that was an average estimate by a group of fifteen analysts in a Bloomberg survey. Moreover, UnitedHealth also maintained its profit forecast for 2009!