- 8.5 million care opportunities
addressed, tens of thousands of potential hospital admissions
avoided since 2012
- Program credited with ‘giving new
lease on life’
UnitedHealthcare has now provided more than 5 million in-home
clinical visits through its HouseCalls program, bringing
potentially life-saving preventive care to people enrolled in its
Medicare Advantage plans in the comfort of their homes.
Since UnitedHealthcare introduced HouseCalls in 2012, the
program has helped tens of thousands of seniors avoid potential
hospital admissions by identifying health concerns and enabling
earlier clinical intervention. This estimate is based on a 2015
RAND study that found people who’d received a HouseCalls visit had
up to 14 percent fewer hospital admissions as compared to people
who had not participated in the program.1
In addition, 8.5 million care opportunities, such as overdue
cancer and diabetes screenings, have been addressed after licensed
health care practitioners identified them during HouseCalls
visits.
Through HouseCalls, people enrolled in most UnitedHealthcare
Medicare Advantage plans, including group retiree and Dual Special
Needs Plans, can receive an annual wellness check-up in the privacy
of their home, at no additional cost. HouseCalls health care
practitioners use patient-specific clinical data on electronic
tablets to help address people’s health needs.
A typical visit lasts 45-60 minutes, considerably longer than a
standard doctor’s appointment, allowing ample time for a physical
exam and a conversation about the patients’ health status and any
health concerns or questions they might have. The health care
practitioners review medications, arrange for certain tests and
screenings if needed, and assess living conditions and social
needs. They can also make referrals to disease management programs
and medication therapy management programs included in people’s
health plans that can help them manage chronic conditions and take
their medications as prescribed. In 2017 alone, HouseCalls visits
resulted in 680,000 such referrals.
HouseCalls supports and complements a doctor’s care, but does
not replace it. The visits conclude with a review of topics people
should discuss with their primary care doctor. A summary of the
visit as well as any test results are provided to people’s doctors
to facilitate care coordination and any necessary follow-up care.
The 2015 RAND study found that physician office visits increased by
up to 6 percent in the year following the HouseCalls visit.
Preventive care and regular monitoring are critical to managing
chronic illnesses, such as diabetes and high blood pressure, and
enable potentially catastrophic health issues to be detected early,
when they are usually easier to treat. Data from the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention show that just half of adults age 65
and older are up-to-date with screenings for chronic conditions,
immunizations and other preventive services.2
UnitedHealthcare regularly hears from people whose lives have
been profoundly affected by the HouseCalls program.
During a January 2018 HouseCalls visit with Frank Chavez, 76, of
Louisville, Colorado, a nurse practitioner expressed concern about
his slow heart rate and encouraged him to contact his doctor
immediately. After taking her advice, Chavez discovered he needed
surgery to install a pacemaker. He credits HouseCalls, available
through his UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan, with giving
him “a new lease on life.”
Paul Schuster, 69, of Theresa, Wisconsin, says he isn’t “a
doctor-going person” but agreed to a HouseCalls visit through his
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan at his wife’s prodding.
The HouseCalls nurse practitioner identified high blood pressure
and convinced him to see a doctor. He was ultimately diagnosed with
lung cancer, but it was caught early and he has completed
treatment. According to his wife, “Paul wouldn’t be here today had
it not been for the HouseCalls program; I’m confident of that.”
UnitedHealthcare has significantly expanded the availability of
HouseCalls to people enrolled in its Medicare Advantage plans since
introducing the program in 2012, when 262,000 home visits were
completed. This year, the company expects that number to grow to
more than 1.4 million. Over that same period, the network of
HouseCalls-employed clinicians has grown from 350 across 25 states
to more than 1,700 across 45 states and the District of
Columbia.
“We’re focused on evolving HouseCalls to enhance its value both
to the people we serve and the broader health care system,” said
Brian Thompson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Medicare &
Retirement.
As part of a pilot program in Tennessee and Hawaii,
UnitedHealthcare recently began providing bone density scans during
HouseCalls visits for women who have suffered a fracture to help
identify those who are at increased risk of suffering another
fracture. The company also recently began using HouseCalls visits
as a way to identify when social determinants of health, such as
access to nutritious food and safe transportation, could be
compromising people’s health, and then refer those individuals to
additional programs and services to help address any unmet
needs.
More information about HouseCalls is available at
UHCHouseCalls.com.
About
UnitedHealthcareUnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping
people live healthier lives and making the health system work
better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience,
meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted
relationships with care providers. In the United States,
UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit
programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid
beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.2 million
physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other
care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health
benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated
health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of
the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified
health care 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.
This information is not a complete description of benefits.
Contact the plan for more information. Limitations, copayments, and
restrictions may apply. Benefits may change on January 1 of each
year.
Y0066_180507_105354
1 Medicare Home Visit Program Associated with Fewer Hospital and
Nursing Home Admissions, Increased Office Visits; Health Affairs,
December 2015;
http://content.healthaffairs.org/content/34/12/2138.abstract2
https://www.cdc.gov/aging/services/index.htmAll other statistics in
this release can be attributed to UnitedHealthcare Internal Data,
2018.
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UnitedHealthcareSarah Bearce, 952-406-5615
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