UnitedHealth Group: UnitedHealthcare to Offer New Medicare Advantage Plan Featuring Canopy Health Care Providers

MINNEAPOLIS, Minnesota, Sept. 19 -- UnitedHealth Group issued the following news release:

UnitedHealthcare will offer a new Medicare Advantage plan in the Bay Area featuring Canopy Health care providers. The UnitedHealthcare(R) Canopy Health Medicare Advantage plan will be available to more than 630,000 Medicare beneficiaries in Contra Costa, Alameda and San Francisco counties.

The new plan will offer access to a large, comprehensive, high-quality network of care providers in the Bay Area who are affiliated with Canopy Health. These care providers share UnitedHealthcare's commitment to improving health outcomes, lowering the cost of care and creating an exceptional patient experience.

"The UnitedHealthcare Canopy Health Medicare Advantage plan is designed to appeal to people looking for the quality care that Canopy Health providers are known for, and the affordability and strong benefits of a UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plan," said Alex Uhm, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement in Northern California. "We are grateful for the opportunity to expand our relationship with Canopy Health, giving Medicare beneficiaries in the Bay Area more choice and flexibility in their health care benefits."

Medicare Advantage enrollment has grown more than 40%/1 during the last five years and now includes more than one-third/2 of all Medicare beneficiaries, including nearly 2.8 million/3 people in California. Medicare Advantage plans typically offer additional benefits that are not available through Original Medicare, including prescription drug coverage, fitness memberships, and vision, dental and hearing benefits. Studies have shown people enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans have fewer/4 and shorter/5 hospital stays and spend less/6 on hospital admissions than people enrolled in Original Medicare.

The UnitedHealthcare Canopy Health Medicare Advantage plan will go into effect Jan. 1, 2020, pending regulatory approval. People may enroll during Medicare Annual Enrollment from Oct. 15 to Dec. 7.

"UnitedHealthcare offers quality and value in Medicare Advantage plans, and by joining this new plan, participants will have access to premier Canopy Health providers in their communities," said Mike Robinson, CEO of Canopy Health.

This new Medicare Advantage plan will expand upon UnitedHealthcare and Canopy Health's existing relationship that serves people with employer-sponsored health insurance.

UnitedHealthcare serves more than 3 million people in California, including 1.2 million Medicare beneficiaries through its portfolio of Medicare Advantage, Medicare supplement and prescription drug plans.

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About Canopy Health

Canopy Health is a physician- and hospital-owned medical alliance that focuses on delivering a refreshing approach to health care and providing transparent, affordable care from exceptional physicians. Incorporated in March 2015 as an affiliation between UCSF Health and John Muir Health, Canopy Health aims to provide a top-quality continuum of care across the San Francisco Bay area through partnerships with primary care providers, community hospitals, top-tier academic medical facilities and medical groups. In addition to its founding members, Canopy Health currently includes five physician groups -- Hill Physicians Medical Group, John Muir Health Physician Network, Meritage Medical Network, Santa Clara County IPA (SCCIPA) and Dignity Health Medical Network -- Santa Cruz (DHMN). Canopy Health also includes 19 participating medical centers across nine Bay Area counties: Alameda, Contra Costa, Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Santa Cruz, Solano and Sonoma.

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 1.3 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 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.

Footnotes:

1/ CMS Data, monthly enrollment by plan, August 2014 to August 2019.

2/ CMS Data, monthly enrollment by plan, August 2019 penetration rate.

3/ CMS Data, monthly enrollment by plan, August 2019 in California.

4/ Avalere Health, July 2018 and Robert Graham Center, March 2016.

5/ Boston Consulting Group, May 2013.

6/ American Journal of Managed Care, August 2015.