UnitedHealthcare’s 2018 Medicare Plans Offer Strong Value
October 02 2017 - 9:00AM
Business Wire
- Plans continue to offer choice,
stability, enhanced benefits and personalized experience
- More people choosing UnitedHealthcare’s
Medicare Advantage plans in 2017 than any otheri
UnitedHealthcare, the market leader in Medicareii, today
introduced its 2018 Medicare Advantage and prescription drug plans,
featuring stable premiums and benefits, broad access and choices,
and a personalized experience to help people live healthier
lives.
UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage plans offer greater
simplicity, personalization and value for the health care dollar,
while providing benefits, services and features not found with
Original Medicare. More than 60 percenti of all Medicare Advantage
enrollment growth in 2017 has been through UnitedHealthcare, the
exclusive provider of AARP-branded Medicare plans.
“UnitedHealthcare offers a variety of affordable plan choices
that feature enhanced benefits, predictable out-of-pocket costs and
highly regarded physicians and hospitals so people can find the
plan that’s right for them,” said Brian Thompson, CEO of
UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement. “People choose our
plans more than any other because we combine our distinctive
benefits with personal service tailored to support people in their
individual health.”
Highlights of UnitedHealthcare’s 2018 plans include:
Stable Premiums & Useful
Benefits
- UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage
members will enjoy stable benefits in 2018. The majority of plan
participants will experience no significant benefit changes or
premium increases.
- UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage
plans offer an annual physical beyond the annual wellness visit
covered by Original Medicare. Almost every plan offers a 24/7 nurse
line for help with pressing health issues; vision and hearing exam
coverage; and hearing aids at a reduced cost. Many plans also offer
preventive dental coverage.
- Nearly three in four people enrolled in
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans will receive a fitness
club membership at no additional cost, an added benefit supporting
their health and wellness.
- Original Medicare does not cover most
prescription drugs, but coverage is included in most
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans, giving people access to
medications they may need without having to pay a separate premium
for a stand-alone Part D plan.
Choice, Quality & Coordinated
Care
- The company will expand its Medicare
Advantage offering to nearly 100 new counties, giving about 1.5
million more Medicare eligibles (44 million people in all) the
opportunity to choose UnitedHealthcare to meet their health care
needs.
- UnitedHealthcare will offer people a
choice of Medicare Advantage plans in most local markets to meet a
wide variety of personal needs and preferences, including plans
that maximize affordability and plans that may offer richer
benefits, lower cost-sharing or more flexibility in access to
specialists.
- People looking for the peace of mind of
prescription drug coverage will continue to find a broad portfolio
of stand-alone Part D plans from UnitedHealthcare. This includes
the AARP MedicareRx Walgreens (PDP) plan, which more people joined
than any other Part D plan in the industry in 2017iii. This plan
offers a low premium, $0 copays for tier 1 and a $0 deductible for
tier 1 and 2 medications, and convenient service at more than 8,200
Walgreens and Duane Reade locations nationwide.
- The company also offers a wide variety
of Medicare supplement plans nationally. UnitedHealthcare
introduced AARP Medicare Supplement Insurance Plan G in 2017, which
enables consumers interested in a lower-premium plan option to get
the coverage they need.
- Nearly three in four people enrolled in
a UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan will be eligible for the
HouseCalls program, which gives them the option to receive an
annual health check-up in the comfort of their own home, at no
cost. These visits often identify care opportunities, such as
overdue immunizations or needed cancer screenings, and have been
credited as life-saving. The company expects more than 1 million
Medicare Advantage members will receive a HouseCalls visit in
2017.
- More than 2.5 millioniv people enrolled
in UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans are treated by
physicians who participate in the company’s value-based,
collaborative programs that reward physicians for the quality of
care they deliver, rather than solely on how many procedures they
perform.
Personalized Experience
UnitedHealthcare delivers a personal experience that helps
people detect and manage health issues before they become acute.
New and expanded technology-driven efforts benefiting
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members include:
- Remote patient
monitoring. UnitedHealthcare is piloting wearable biosensors
to monitor people’s health upon discharge from a hospital. Sensors
track everything from heart rate and skin temperature to posture
and movement, and even detect falls. The technology can identify
issues before they become acute, while ultimately improving
recovery time and reducing hospital readmissions.
- Activity
trackers. UnitedHealthcare has a walking program in 20
states that provides Medicare Advantage members with activity
trackers and encourages them to hit daily goals, including step
counts (7,500 daily steps) and frequency of movement (a 5-minute
walk, four times a day). Pilots showed promising results: nearly 70
percent of people who registered actively participated in the
program, and three in four continue actively walking after more
than one year.
- Virtual
Visits. By 2018, more than 170,000 individual and more than
1 million Group Retiree Medicare Advantage plan members will have
access to UnitedHealthcare’s Virtual Visits. Whether using a
smartphone for a scheduled video visit with a physician, or going
online to get support when an unexpected health issue pops up, this
technology helps people get the care they need, when they need
it.
“Digital technology and connected devices can produce massive
amounts of data, but that data, on its own, is not particularly
useful,” said Thompson. “UnitedHealthcare translates data and
analytics into personalized and actionable information that can
have a profound impact on the health and well-being of the people
we serve.”
The Leader in Serving People with
Medicare
UnitedHealthcare serves more than 4.3 million people in Medicare
Advantage, 4.9 million people through its portfolio of Part D
prescription drug plans, and 4.4 million beneficiaries through its
Medicare supplement plans.
Altogether, UnitedHealthcare serves one in five Medicare
beneficiariesv.
People can make changes to their Medicare coverage during
Medicare Open Enrollment, which runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.
More information about UnitedHealthcare’s 2018 Medicare plan
offerings is available at www.UHCMedicarePlans.com.
People in the following communities can also visit a nearby
UnitedHealthcare MedicareStore or MedicareStore-branded mall kiosk
for personalized, one-on-one support with their enrollment
decisions from licensed UnitedHealthcare agents:
- St. Louis; Colorado Springs, Colo.;
Houston, Dallas and North Richland Hills, Texas; Tucson, Ariz.;
Tukwila, Wash.; Henderson and Las Vegas, Nev.; Culver City and Loma
Linda, Calif.; Fort Myers, Lakeland and The Villages, Fla; and
Yonkers, N.Y.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live
healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting
consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted
relationships with care providers. The company offers the full
spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers,
military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare
and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with 1 million
physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other
care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the
businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune
50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit
UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.
Plans are insured through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or
one of its affiliated companies. For Medicare Advantage and
Prescription Drug Plans: A Medicare Advantage organization with a
Medicare contract and a Medicare-approved Part D sponsor.
Enrollment in these plans depends on the plan’s contract renewal
with Medicare. UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company pays royalty fees
to AARP for the use of its intellectual property. These fees are
used for the general purposes of AARP. You do not need to be an
AARP member to enroll in a Medicare Advantage or Prescription Drug
Plan. AARP and its affiliates are not insurers. AARP encourages you
to consider your needs when selecting products and does not make
specific product recommendations for individuals. United contracts
directly with Walgreens for this plan; AARP and its affiliates are
not parties to that contractual relationship.
You must continue to pay your Medicare Part B premium.
This information is not a complete description of benefits.
Contact the plan for more information. Limitations, copayments, and
restrictions may apply. Benefits, premiums and/or
co-payments/co-insurance may change on January 1 of each year.The
formulary, pharmacy network, and/or provider network may change at
any time. You will receive notice when necessary.
Other pharmacies are available in our network.
Statistics refer to UnitedHealthcare’s standard Medicare
Advantage plans (i.e. non-Special Needs Plans) unless specified
otherwise.
i CMS Data, monthly enrollment by plan, December 2016 to August
2017. Excludes acquisition of Rocky Mountain Health Plan.ii CMS
Data, August 2017, and NAIC statutory filings, December 2016.iii
CMS Data, monthly enrollment by plan, January to August 2017.iv
Statistic refers to all UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans
(including Special Needs Plans and Group Retiree), 2017.v
UnitedHealthcare internal data (unique lives only), 2017.
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UnitedHealthcareTaylor Joseph,
952-931-5430Taylor.Joseph@uhc.com
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