The company's previously mentioned pricing power and economies of scale have allowed UnitedHealth to keep growing without taking on much debt. Notice its superior interest coverage ratio in the table below, which reveals how many times over UnitedHealth's earnings can pay for the interest on its outstanding debt. (The higher, the better). By keeping debt to a manageable level -- right in line with its industry average, as the table shows -- UnitedHealth has more freedom to expand, upgrade its operations, and devote its capital to profitable investments.