UnitedHealthcare Chief Medical Officer to Discuss Baby Boomers’ Impact on Medicare at 2012 Aging in America Conference

MINNETONKA, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Rhonda Randall, D.O., chief medical officer of UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement, will join a panel of esteemed experts at the 2012 Aging in America Conference to discuss baby boomers’ impact on Medicare.

The general session, “How Boomers Will Transform Aging and How Aging Will Transform the Boomers,” will be held in the ballroom of the Marriott Wardman Park on Sunday, April 1, from 9:30 to 11:15 a.m. During her remarks, Randall will address how boomers will change the way the nation thinks about aging, due in part to their size but also to characteristics unique to their generation. She will also discuss how boomers are likely to approach health care decisions as they age and how the Medicare program needs to evolve in order to better serve them.

UnitedHealthcare is sponsoring this year’s Aging in America Conference, to be held March 28-April 1 in Washington, D.C. The conference is the largest gathering of professionals focused on advancing the care of older adults.

According to U.S. Census data, the population of Medicare beneficiaries will grow by 36 percent by the end of this decade as the massive baby boomer generation ages in to the nation’s largest health insurance program.

“Last year, the oldest of the nation’s nearly 77 million baby boomers turned 65 and became eligible for Medicare. Every day for the next decade, 10,000 boomers will follow suit, bringing tremendous growth to the program,” said Randall. “As a geriatrician, I know that challenges are ahead for our country as we prepare to provide care for a rapidly growing number of older adults. UnitedHealthcare is grateful for the opportunity to participate in this year’s Aging in America Conference in support of the outstanding work of the health care professionals caring for our nation’s older adults.”

Aging in America is the annual conference of the American Society on Aging (ASA), an association of diverse individuals bound by a common goal: to support the commitment and enhance the knowledge and skills of those who seek to improve the quality of life of older adults and their families. The membership of ASA is multidisciplinary and inclusive of professionals who are concerned with the physical, emotional, social, economic and spiritual aspects of aging. The organization’s 5,000 members are practitioners, educators, administrators, policymakers, business people, researchers and students.

UnitedHealthcare is the nation’s largest business dedicated to seniors’ and other Medicare beneficiaries’ health and well-being. The company serves more than 10 million members through its portfolio of Medicare plans and is the market leader by enrollment in each of its core product offerings: Medicare Advantage plans, Part D prescription drug plans and Medicare supplement plans.

UnitedHealthcare will showcase a variety of programs and innovations that are helping to enhance the health and well-being of America’s older adults at its booth in the Aging in America exhibit hall (space 401/403). These include:

• Medicare Made Clear: This award-winning education campaign is designed to simplify the experience of enrolling in Medicare. Through an interactive website, MedicareMadeClear.com, a library of printed materials and other tools, the campaign aims to empower Medicare beneficiaries to make informed, personalized decisions about their health care coverage.
• Health Savings Checkup: This online tool from OptumHealth, a UnitedHealth Group company, helps people plan for retirement. After an individual answers basic questions about retirement goals, health and finances, the tool estimates his or her potential health care costs in retirement. It also provides a personal action plan with guidance on ways to stay healthy, spend less and save more. The Health Savings Checkup’s estimates are drawn from an analysis of claims spanning 78 health conditions from more than 16 million plan participants.
• "The Doctor in the Mirror": This new book, written by Reed V. Tuckson, M.D., UnitedHealth Group executive vice president and chief of medical affairs, aims to put the power of healthy aging in the hands of average Americans. It is a common-sense guide to everyday health issues that empowers older adults to take charge of their health by recognizing the doctor in the mirror, or “Dr. You.”
• Doc Scrub and Just Plain Clear Glossary: Doc Scrub is a web-based tool that transforms “medical speak” into plain English. It calculates the reading grade level of a document and provides plain-language definitions for complex terms, pulling data from the Just Plain Clear Glossary. Unique within the industry, the glossary includes alternative language for more than 1,600 complex health insurance and health care terms.

More information about UnitedHealthcare’s portfolio of <org>Medicare plans is available at www.UHCMedicareSolutions.com.

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 and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 650,000 physicians and care professionals and 5,000 hospitals nationwide. UnitedHealthcare serves more than 38 million people and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.

The family of UnitedHealthcare® Medicare Solutions plans are insured or covered by an affiliate of UnitedHealthcare, a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract and Medicare-approved Part D Sponsor.

UnitedHealthcare Sarah Bearce, 952-931-4732
[email protected]

Source: UnitedHealthcare