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UnitedHealthcare and Optum launch virtual-first health plan design

Picture: Al David Sacks/Getty Images

Significant insurer UnitedHealthcare has unveiled a new virtual-initially overall health program dubbed NavigateNOW, designed in conjunction with sister business Optum, which guarantees a more built-in technique to the two virtual and in-human being treatment.

The new overall health program opens up the chance for eligible UHC customers to get several kinds of treatment, like wellness, plan, chronic-condition management, urgent and behavioral overall health services.

Beginning this year for choose employers in nine markets, NavigateNOW will supply persons with a healthcare program with about 15% significantly less top quality value than common advantage options, claimed UHC.

The nine markets include: Very little Rock, Arkansas Fort Myers, Florida Pittsburgh Springfield, Massachusetts Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota Richmond, Virginia Indianapolis Dallas and Houston.

Persons in the NavigateNOW program will get 24/7 obtain to a individualized Optum treatment workforce for key, urgent and behavioral health care services, backed by a countrywide community of treatment gurus.

What is THE Affect?

Enrolled customers in NavigateNOW will be capable to comprehensive a overall health profile to show own choices, recent prescription drugs and current overall health situations. Centered on the evaluation, every member will be matched with a individualized treatment workforce, which may possibly include a board-licensed medical doctor and other treatment vendors who will operate together to supply key, urgent and behavioral health care.

The treatment workforce, claimed UHC, will be led by a committed key treatment provider who will pretty much supply treatment, and then link the person to in-human being Optum vendors and other overall health gurus when necessary. The product is designed to identify overall health troubles earlier and market the use of preventive treatment.

For occasion, during virtual key treatment appointments, Optum vendors will have the capability to link the UnitedHealthcare member with behavioral overall health services within the virtual system as essential. This, claimed UHC, will ostensibly assistance aid added virtual or in-human being behavioral overall health appointments, like remedy, medication management and added treatment coordination with other overall health services.

The offering is supported by Optum’s new virtual treatment system and virtual healthcare group. The proprietary system, UHC claimed, permits UnitedHealthcare customers to agenda appointments on the net and delivers a number of strategies for them to communicate with their treatment workforce, this kind of as dwell chat and video visits. 

If after a virtual visit a member desires added overall health services, this kind of as for a course of action or an X-ray, the treatment workforce can use the platform’s navigation equipment to assistance link the person to a treatment provider in UnitedHealthcare’s community, like more than 1,600 amenities in Optum’s countrywide ambulatory provider community.

THE Larger Pattern

NavigateNOW is the newest of quite a few UnitedHealthcare virtual treatment choices supported by the Optum virtual treatment system and other countrywide telehealth vendors.

As of this spring, Optum Digital Treatment was available in all fifty states, with executives from the two UnitedHealth and Optum declaring the software aims to integrate actual physical treatment, telehealth, property treatment and behavioral treatment.

ON THE File

“By collaborating with Optum, UnitedHealthcare is establishing a more built-in and coordinated health care program that takes advantage of technological innovation and own help to assistance really encourage whole-human being overall health, which may possibly assistance reduce and detect disorder just before it starts off,” claimed Dr. Rhonda Randall, main healthcare officer of UnitedHealthcare Employer & Particular person.

“UnitedHealthcare and Optum will carry on doing work together to modernize our technique to overall health positive aspects and treatment shipping and delivery, applying technological innovation and details to assistance make it more handy for our customers to obtain several kinds of healthcare treatment to help their actual physical and psychological properly-becoming.”

“Sufferers want more selections for having treatment that is handy for them and their life,” claimed Kristi Henderson, Optum senior vice president for electronic transformation, and CEO of Optum Digital Treatment, which incorporates Optum’s countrywide virtual-initially healthcare group.

“Our operate with UnitedHealthcare is designed to assistance make it more simple for clients and customers to interact with their treatment vendors by bringing together our electronic methods and countrywide medical footprint to supply a more seamless, linked encounter.”
 

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