UnitedHealthcare Introduces 2016 Medicare Advantage Plans Highlighted by Stability, Choice

• No change in monthly premium for nearly 90 percent of Medicare Advantage members, with many continuing to enjoy a $0 premium
• Choice of Medicare Advantage plans offered to more than 90 percent of members
• Plans encourage use of preventive care services and help improve members’ health

MINNETONKA, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- UnitedHealthcare today introduced its 2016 Medicare Advantage plans, featuring stable offerings designed to deliver coordinated care that helps members maintain and maximize their health.

Beneficiaries enrolled in UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage plans will find stability and predictability in their benefits in 2016. Highlights of the 2016 plans include:

• Access to Medicare Advantage plans with a $0 premium beyond the Medicare Part B premium for more than 37 million Medicare beneficiaries in UnitedHealthcare’s 2016 coverage area, including 60 percent of its current members;
• No change in the monthly premium for nearly 90 percent of UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage members, with many continuing to enjoy a $0 premium;
• A choice of Medicare Advantage plans for more than 90 percent of members, enabling many of them to select from $0-premium plans that maximize affordability and plans with monthly premiums that may offer richer benefits and lower cost-sharing;
• Expanded plan options in several metropolitan areas in 2016, including Savannah, Georgia, Toledo, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, giving more than 1 million beneficiaries the opportunity to experience for themselves why more people have chosen UnitedHealthcare for their Medicare Advantage coverage than any other health plan; and,
• Prescription drug coverage with stable medication copays and formularies included with most Medicare Advantage plans, giving beneficiaries access to the medications they need without having to pay a separate premium for a stand-alone Part D plan.

“Our members can take comfort in the stability of their benefits in 2016,” said Steve Nelson, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement. “Regardless of our members’ health status or health needs, we’re committed to helping them live happier, healthier lives, which is why we work to make it as simple and convenient as possible for them to access the care they need.”

Benefits People Value and Not Available in Original Medicare
UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage plans offer benefits, services and support that beneficiaries value – and that they won’t find with Original Medicare.

The plans encourage and facilitate the delivery of coordinated care through high-quality provider networks to help beneficiaries maintain and maximize their health. The doctors who care for UnitedHealthcare members serve as a comprehensive care team, led by a primary care doctor, that works together to help members receive the care they need at the right time and in the most appropriate setting.

This collaborative, coordinated, team-based approach will close millions of gaps in care for UnitedHealthcare members in 2015 by helping beneficiaries receive recommended cancer screenings such as mammograms, for example, and supporting their adherence to medications to help manage their diabetes, high blood pressure or cholesterol. Ultimately this can help improve members’ health outcomes and health care experience while also saving money for both members and the broader health care system.

All of UnitedHealthcare’s standard Medicare Advantage plans cover an annual physical, above and beyond the annual wellness visit available through Original Medicare. If individuals are overdue for their annual physical or wellness visit, UnitedHealthcare Customer Care representatives can help connect them to the care they need by scheduling the appointment for them.

And for urgent health issues or concerns that can’t wait for the next available doctor’s appointment, beneficiaries can reach health care professionals 24 hours a day, seven days a week, through the NurseLine.

To supplement the care from members’ primary care physician, UnitedHealthcare’s HouseCalls^SM program provides them the opportunity to have a physical exam and comprehensive review of their health status in the comfort of their home. The company projects that 1 million beneficiaries will receive a HouseCalls visit in 2015.

Nearly all of UnitedHealthcare’s standard Medicare Advantage plans cover routine vision and hearing care, and most will continue to provide coverage of hearing aids for co-pays that are significantly lower than the retail price, giving 85 percent of members access to important devices that otherwise aren’t covered by Original Medicare. By offering these benefits, UnitedHealthcare aims to support beneficiaries’ desire to remain independent and engaged with their friends, family and community by helping them maintain their vision and hearing health.

Nearly all of the medications that are most commonly used by UnitedHealthcare members will remain on tiers 1 and 2 of the formulary for its Medicare Advantage Part D plans. Members enrolled in standard Medicare Advantage Part D plans can access these medications with no deductible, and – new in 2016 – they can receive a 90-day supply of these drugs for a $0 copay when they use OptumRx, the company’s preferred mail-service pharmacy, for convenient home delivery.

UnitedHealthcare will enhance its efforts to help people enrolled in its Medicare Advantage plans become happier and healthier with the introduction of Renew by UnitedHealthcare, a comprehensive set of wellness tools and resources designed to help members take control of their health by educating, guiding and supporting them while making their health care experience simple and rewarding.

Nearly 70 percent of people enrolled in UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage plans can take advantage of a SilverSneakers fitness membership in 2016, giving them opportunities to exercise and maintain important social connections in an environment focused on the needs of older adults.

Serving the Health and Well-Being Needs of Nearly One in Five Beneficiaries
UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare plans, many of which carry the AARP brand, have been designed to help meet the diverse needs of the more than 55 million current beneficiaries as well as baby boomers who are aging into Medicare at the rate of 10,000 per day.^* The company serves nearly one in five Medicare beneficiaries through its Medicare Advantage, Part D prescription drug and Medicare supplement plans.

More information about UnitedHealthcare’s 2016 Medicare offerings is available at www.UHCMedicarePlans.com.

Beneficiaries in the following communities can also visit a nearby UnitedHealthcare MedicareStore or MedicareStore-branded mall kiosk for personalized, one-on-one support with their enrollment decisions from licensed UnitedHealthcare agents: Los Angeles; Lynnwood, Washington; Las Vegas; Tucson, Arizona; Colorado Springs; Fort Worth, Texas; Mesquite, Texas; St. Louis; Oak Lawn, Illinois; Greensburg, Pennsylvania; Toms River, New Jersey; Depew, New York; Staten Island, New York; Winston-Salem, North Carolina; Delray Beach, Florida; Fort Myers, Florida; and The Villages, Florida.

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, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.

^*CMS and U.S. Census Data, 2015
All other statistics in this release can be attributed to UnitedHealthcare Internal Data, 2015.

Plans are insured through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or one of its affiliated companies, a Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract. Enrollment in the plan depends on the plan’s contract renewal with Medicare.

You must continue to pay your Medicare Part B premium.

This information is not a complete description of benefits. Contact the plan for more information.

Limitations, copayments, and restrictions may apply. Benefits, premiums and/or co-payments/co-insurance may change on January 1 of each year. The provider network may change at any time. You will receive notice when necessary.

You are not required to use OptumRx home delivery for a 90-day supply of your maintenance medication. If you have not used OptumRx home delivery, you must approve the first prescription order sent directly from your doctor to OptumRx before it can be filled. New prescriptions from OptumRx should arrive within ten business days from the date the completed order is received, and refill orders should arrive in about seven business days. Contact OptumRx anytime at 1-888-658-0539, TTY 711. OptumRx is an affiliate of UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company. Co-pay is applicable during initial coverage period and does not apply during coverage gap or catastrophic amount.

Y0066_150917_150920 Accepted

Click here to subscribe to Mobile Alerts for UnitedHealth Group.

View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20151001005305/en/

UnitedHealthcare

Sarah Bearce, 952-931-4732

[email protected]

Source: UnitedHealthcare