UnitedHealthcare's 2023 Medicare Plans Add New Advantages, Simplicity for Customers – Enterprise Wire

MINNETONKA, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–UnitedHealthcare^® in the present day launched its 2023 Medicare Benefit and prescription drug plans, providing expanded entry to consumer-focused plans that ship a differentiated member expertise underscored by better-than-ever ancillary advantages, decrease prescription drug prices, and additional enhancements to core advantages.

“With monetary pressures particularly impacting older adults residing on fastened incomes, we’re dedicated to bettering the advantages we provide and driving industry-leading improvements that make them simpler to make use of for the folks we serve,” stated Tim Noel, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement. “These investments and improvements will make a significant influence on the expertise and worth we offer to our members – in methods solely UnitedHealthcare Medicare Benefit can.”

Greater than 8.2 million folksⁱ are presently enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Medicare Benefit plans, and greater than a 3rd of all Medicare Benefit enrollment development over the previous 5 years, together with 2022, has been by way of UnitedHealthcare.ⁱⁱ

In 2023, the corporate will develop its service space to achieve 95% of Medicare shoppers nationwide and keep the {industry}’s largest Medicare Benefit footprint – together with practically 2.3 million extra folks in 314 further counties with entry to an ordinaryⁱⁱⁱ Medicare Benefit plan and 145,000 extra folks eligible for a Twin Particular Wants Plan (D-SNP).

Highlights of UnitedHealthcare’s 2023 particular person Medicare Benefit plans embody:

New Plan Options Carry Price Financial savings, Assist Complete-Individual Well being

• D-SNP Utilities Credit score: The mixed over-the-counter (OTC) and wholesome meals profit supplied in 2022 on practically all D-SNPs gave members thrice extra credit score than the 2021 wholesome meals credit score. In 2023, with meals and utility costs rising larger than the common inflation charge^iv, dwelling utilities might be added to the profit with a median annual credit score of greater than $2,200. This implies Twin members can even select to spend their month-to-month credit score on bills like dwelling warmth, electrical energy, water, sewer and residential web.
• D-SNP House Assist: With client analysis figuring out dwelling care providers as a high desired profit by Twin eligibles, UnitedHealthcare will supply a brand new dwelling assist providers profit on choose D-SNPs. Members can use a $150-$225 quarterly credit score towards assist providers together with pest management, companion care, gentle cleansing, dwelling modifications, yard upkeep and extra.
• Flex Profit: A brand new flex profit on choose plans can be utilized to increase current dental, imaginative and prescient and listening to advantages after utilizing these advantages. This annual profit starting from $150-$750 can be utilized to pay for Medicare-approved objects and providers like listening to help copays, prescription sun shades, out-of-network dental expenses and extra.

Worth-Added Investments Throughout Core and Ancillary Advantages, Fashionable Plan Options

• Profit Stability: 99% of members in customary and Continual Particular Wants Plans (C-SNPs) could have steady or lowered premiums – together with practically 3.3 million members with a $0 premium – and all could have steady or improved core and prescription drug advantages. Moreover, all Medicare Benefit members will see steady ancillary advantages, with 91% receiving better-than-ever ancillary advantages like dental, listening to, OTC and prescription drug protection.
• $0 Copays: 97% of members are enrolled in an ordinary plan or C-SNP with a $0 PCP copay, up from 83% in 2022 and better than the remainder of the {industry}, and practically all eligibles could have entry to a plan with a $0 PCP copay. Many members may even see decreased copays on specialist visits and bodily, occupational and speech therapies – and $0 copays when the go to is digital.
• Dental: The corporate will supply its richest enhanced complete dental profit ever, with one simplified protection degree obtainable to 96% of individuals in customary plans, masking all non-cosmetic dental care together with dentures and implants, and no out-of-pocket prices as much as the annual protection restrict on most plans. Members could have entry to the most important nationwide Medicare Benefit dental community, and all plans with the improved complete dental profit will permit members to see out-of-network dentists to obtain the protection they want.
• OTC, Wholesome Meals and Utilities Credit score: D-SNP members with this mixed profit will see a median enhance of 42%, amounting to a median allowance of greater than $2,200, with some members having as much as $3,600 per yr to spend throughout coated OTC merchandise and wholesome meals between procuring journeys or on-line supply orders, plus eligible utilities bills.
• Imaginative and prescient and Listening to: All plans with imaginative and prescient protection will keep a $0 routine annual eye examination, and most could have an eyewear allowance. Commonplace lenses are coated for gratis and greater than 92% of members could have an annual profit, up from 59% in 2022. Moreover, nearly all of plans will supply a $0 listening to examination and all members could have a listening to help profit, sometimes annual, and entry to custom-programmed listening to aids by way of UnitedHealthcare Listening to, together with retail and home-delivery choices.

Prescription Drug Plan Designs Drive Down Client Prices

• $0 Copays and Deductibles: Extra plans than ever will decrease tier 1 retail copays to $0, giving practically all members in customary plans and C-SNPs free entry to the commonest adherence drugs. And 100% of members could have $0 tier 1 and a couple of copays by way of Optum House Supply, up from 93% in 2022. Moreover, 87% of members could have no Rx deductibles, up from 59% in 2022.
• Formulary Investments: The corporate’s Medicare Benefit formulary could have extra medication in tier 1 than ever earlier than and transfer much more generally used medication to decrease tiers, which goal situations corresponding to heart problems, despair, osteoarthritis, glaucoma, and overactive bladder, amongst others. Moreover, a number of medication used earlier than or after dental procedures have moved to tier 1, serving to to get rid of out-of-pocket prices for these medication on most plans.
• Continual Situation Assist: All members with out Further Assist enrolled in C-SNPs could have entry to insulin at $25 ($10 lower than customary plans) along with diabetic provides on tier 2, giving entry to $0 copays for provides when utilizing dwelling supply. C-SNP members may even have entry to eight drugs on a decrease drug tier that concentrate on heart problems.
• Half D Protection Hole: All customary plans will proceed to offer tier 1 hole protection, eliminating elevated prices throughout the protection hole and serving to to make sure price is just not a barrier for members to remain adherent with their drugs.
• $0 Drug Copays on Twin Particular Wants Plans (D-SNP): UnitedHealthcare will proceed to develop entry to $0 copays on coated medication to 96% of our members enrolled in D-SNPs – bringing wanted financial savings to extra Twin members than every other provider.

Distinctive Choices Assist a Superior Member Expertise

• UCard: A nationwide rollout to greater than 6.4 million particular person Medicare Benefit members brings collectively the member ID with enhanced fee know-how to create a single, built-in card that not solely supplies entry to well being care, but in addition permits members to buy with their advantages, spend earned rewards and extra. Key options embody:
  • Members with an OTC, or OTC, wholesome meals, and utilities mixed profit can spend the credit score on their UCard on hundreds of coated objects at greater than 35,000 retail places nationwide – a primary for many members in customary plans and C-SNPs.
  • All members with a UCard and Renew Lively® health profit can use the UCard to entry their free health club membership on their first go to to any of the 22,000+ Renew Lively community gyms and health places – the most important nationwide Medicare health community.
  • Earned rewards are loaded onto a member’s UCard after they full eligible actions like getting a flu shot or a mammogram, having a UnitedHealthcare HouseCalls go to, or attaining month-to-month exercise targets.
  • The UCard Hub on the UnitedHealthcare member web site and cell app will give members real-time entry to obtainable balances, a retailer locator and extra, with further assist from customer support as wanted.
• Medicare Nationwide Community: The most important nationwide Medicare Benefit community^v might be obtainable throughout much more plans in 2023, reaching practically 96% of individuals in UnitedHealthcare’s protection space and greater than 3.1 million present enrollees. Members pay community prices after they see any of the greater than 1 million community care suppliers, whether or not of their neighborhood or away from dwelling.
• Excessive-Contact Member Assist: Whether or not in individual or on the cellphone, and from routine to advanced wants, UnitedHealthcare presents tailor-made assist to members by way of applications together with:
  • HouseCalls: This yearly, in-home well being and wellness medical service is a checkup for gratis. Through the go to, a licensed doctor or superior apply clinician will evaluation a person’s medical historical past, reply questions, carry out a bodily examination and supply a well being screening. These visits additionally present a chance to evaluate the social, emotional and environmental wants of a member that often can’t be assessed in a clinic setting.
  • UnitedHealthcare At House: Choose markets supply this personalised medical program designed to enhance entry to care, assist member training and coordinate care throughout suppliers to finally enhance well being outcomes by way of contact factors together with in-home visits and telephonic assist.
  • Navigate4Me^TM: For D-SNP members, our navigators present one-on-one assist for wants starting from medical assist, social determinants of well being, care coordination and extra.

Extra Protection Decisions to Meet Various Wants

As the one firm to supply Medicare plans with the AARP identify, and the nation’s largest Medicare Benefit, D-SNP and Medicare Complement provider, UnitedHealthcare serves practically 1 in 5 folks within the Medicare program by way of its portfolio of plans^vi. UnitedHealthcare serves roughly 4.4 million folks by way of its Medicare Complement plans and roughly 4 million folks by way of its stand-alone and group Half D prescription drug plans.

Folks could make adjustments to their Medicare protection throughout Medicare Annual Enrollment, which runs from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.

For extra info on UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare plans, go to UHCMedicareHealthPlans.com.

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is devoted to serving to folks reside more healthy lives and making the well being system work higher for everybody by simplifying the well being care expertise, assembly client well being and wellness wants, and sustaining trusted relationships with care suppliers. In the USA, UnitedHealthcare presents the total spectrum of well being profit applications for people, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts immediately with greater than 1.5 million physicians and care professionals, and seven,000 hospitals and different care services nationwide. The corporate additionally supplies well being advantages and delivers care to folks by way of owned and operated well being care services in South America. UnitedHealthcare is without doubt one of the companies of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified well being care firm. For extra info, go to UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or comply with @UHC on Twitter.

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Plans are insured or coated by a Medicare Benefit group with a Medicare contract and/or a Medicare-approved Half D sponsor. Enrollment within the plan is determined by the plan’s contract renewal with Medicare. For Twin Particular Wants Plans: A Medicare Benefit group with a Medicare contract and a contract with the State Medicaid Program.

Advantages and options, and/or gadgets range by plan/space. Limitations and exclusions apply.

Flex profit allowance expires on the finish of the plan yr. Flex profit allowance should be used at dental, imaginative and prescient or listening to suppliers that settle for Visa.

Meals, OTC and utility advantages have expiration timeframes. Name your plan or evaluation your Proof of Protection (EOC) for extra info.

In case your plan presents out-of-network dental protection and also you see an out-of-network dentist, you is perhaps billed extra. Community measurement varies by native market. Out-of-network/non-contracted suppliers are below no obligation to deal with plan members, besides in emergency conditions. Please name our customer support quantity or see your Proof of Protection for extra info, together with the cost-sharing that applies to out-of-network providers.

$0 copay could also be restricted to specific tiers, most popular drugs, or dwelling supply prescriptions throughout the preliminary protection section and will not apply throughout the protection hole or catastrophic stage.

Digital visits might require a video-enabled smartphone or different system. Not to be used in emergencies.

Imaginative and prescient advantages range by plan and should not obtainable with all plans. Limitations and exclusions apply. Extra expenses might apply for out-of-network objects and providers. Annual routine eye examination and $100-600 allowance for contacts or designer frames, with customary (single, bi-focal, tri-focal or customary progressive) lenses coated in full both yearly or each two years.

Different listening to examination suppliers can be found within the UnitedHealthcare community. The plan solely covers listening to aids from a UnitedHealthcare Listening to community supplier.

UnitedHealthcare Insurance coverage Firm pays royalty charges to AARP for the usage of its mental property. These charges are used for the final functions of AARP. AARP and its associates should not insurers. You don’t want to be an AARP member to enroll in a Medicare Benefit or Prescription Drug Plan. AARP encourages you to think about your wants when deciding on merchandise and doesn’t make particular product suggestions for people.

Participation within the Renew Lively® program is voluntary. Seek the advice of your physician previous to starting an train program or making adjustments to your life-style or well being care routine. Renew Lively consists of customary health membership. Health membership tools, courses, personalised health plans, caregiver entry and occasions might range by location. Entry to Medicare’s largest nationwide health club community relies upon comparability of rivals’ web site knowledge as of Might 2022. Health club community might range in native market.

HouseCalls will not be obtainable in all areas.

Supplier community might range in native market. Community sizes range by market and exclusions might apply.

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ⁱCMS enrollment knowledge, August 2022. Enrollment throughout all plans.

ⁱⁱCMS Enrollment Knowledge, Dec. 2018 – Aug. 2022.

ⁱⁱⁱRefers to UnitedHealthcare’s customary Medicare Benefit plans (i.e., non-special wants plans).

^ivClient Value Index – Bureau of Labor Statistics. Consumer Price Index Summary – 2022 M08 Results (bls.gov); Latest Numbers : U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (bls.gov)

^vCommunity measurement varies by plan and by market and exclusions might apply.

^viCMS enrollment knowledge, August 2022.