Health Action Council Introduces New Consumer Health Support Model through Collaboration with UnitedHealthcare and Optum

CLEVELAND, Ohio, Oct. 8 -- UnitedHealthcare, a division of UnitedHealth Group, issued the following news release:

The Health Action Council, an organization dedicated to improving the quality and cost of care, is expanding its relationship with UnitedHealthcare and Optum to launch an enhanced insurance plan that will be available to Health Action Council member companies for Jan. 1, 2019, enrollment.

This hands-on, integrated health advocacy and clinical model puts member employees at the center of care, creating relationships that focus on preemptive - or preventive - care. Each individual or dependent covered under Health Action Council member plans will have a designated health care adviser who can:

* provide day-to-day assistance for routine care and benefits questions;

* offer additional guidance and care management support, when requested; and

* help address more acute care needs.

For people with chronic illnesses or acute health episodes, a designated clinical team of nurses and other care providers will help individuals:

* identify high-quality care providers;

* arrange appointments;

* understand and calculate the entire cost of particular courses of treatment; and

* best utilize their benefits.

The end result is a new level of personalized service for health care consumers from care integration, advanced analytics to monitor decision-making, measurement and plan sponsor cost reductions.

"Enhancing ways to keep people healthy, driving waste out of the health care system and improving care continue to be key objectives for our member companies, and was the impetus for this new innovative care model," said Patty Starr, executive director, Health Action Council. "By combining efforts that worked in the past with new learnings and better analytics, and placing an even greater focus on the individual, we can reallocate resources to better influence employee health and care outcomes. This is the key driver behind our expanded partnership and the launch of our enhanced benefits plan."

Identifying and addressing community issues that affect people's health is critical to this integrated care model. Using their own employee data, employers can determine the variations in quality of care community by community (i.e., chronic illnesses, high emergency room utilization, and limited access to food and housing) and focus efforts and resources to address specific concerns.* *

To gain a better understanding and encourage adoption of its new advocacy model, Health Action Council worked with UnitedHealthcare and Optum to measure the community impacts - such as health spending and outcomes, and social determinants - on employer health care costs across 10 metropolitan areas. To view "Community Health Care: Improving Employer Investment in Overall Health," go to https://healthactioncouncil.org.

"One-on-one care support, coupled with actionable community data, will be integral to improving people's health and well-being," said UnitedHealthcare National Accounts COO Alison Richards. "The information gathered from this model and other business initiatives around individual engagement and care access, coupled with data on the impact that our communities have on people's health, will be critical to making quality care more affordable for individuals, families and communities."

In addition to telephonic support, the Health Action Council will offer access to onsite advocate and nursing support. It also intends to add enhanced pharmacy services, voluntary dental plan options and global services to address health care coverage needs outside the United States. For more information about the Health Action Council and benefits offerings for its member plan sponsors, go to https://healthactioncouncil.org.

About the Health Action Council

Health Action Council is a not-for-profit organization representing large employers that enhances human and economic health through thought leadership, innovative services and collaboration. The organization provides value to its members by facilitating projects that improve quality, lower costs and enhance individual experiences, and by collaborating with key stakeholders to build a culture of health.

About Optum

Optum is a leading information and technology-enabled health services business dedicated to helping make the health system work better for everyone. With more than 133,000 people worldwide, Optum delivers intelligent, integrated solutions that help to modernize the health system and improve overall population health. Optum is part of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH).

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare 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.