{"id":414710,"date":"2021-01-14T07:03:58","date_gmt":"2021-01-14T12:03:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/?p=414710"},"modified":"2021-01-14T07:03:58","modified_gmt":"2021-01-14T12:03:58","slug":"unitedhealthcare-expands-access-to-virtual-care-including-a-new-virtual-primary-care-offering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.marketnewsdesk.com\/index.php\/unitedhealthcare-expands-access-to-virtual-care-including-a-new-virtual-primary-care-offering\/","title":{"rendered":"UnitedHealthcare Expands Access to Virtual Care, Including a New Virtual Primary Care Offering"},"content":{"rendered":"

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UnitedHealthcare Expands Access to Virtual Care, Including a New Virtual Primary Care Offering <\/b><\/p>\n

UnitedHealthcare has updated a policy to help encourage primary care physicians, specialists and select therapy providers to administer certain care virtually <\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

Eligible UnitedHealthcare members in employer-sponsored plans can now virtually establish a relationship with a primary care physician for preventive, routine and chronic condition care<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

MINNETONKA, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE<\/a>)–
\nUnitedHealthcare has expanded the availability of virtual care with local physicians for members enrolled in employer-sponsored plans, and also introduced a new Virtual Primary Care service designed to enable access to medical services in a simpler and more convenient way. Through both efforts, eligible members may be able to visit virtually with health care providers for various types of care, including wellness, routine and chronic condition management.\n<\/p>\n

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https:\/\/www.businesswire.com\/news\/home\/20210114005268\/en\/<\/a><\/p>\n

\"Access<\/p>\n

Access to primary care may help prevent and detect disease, with a simpler and more convenient option now making it possible for eligible UnitedHealthcare members to virtually establish an ongoing relationship with this type of medical provider. Source: UnitedHealthcare<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\nTo help improve access to local care providers, UnitedHealthcare has updated a policy to help encourage the use of virtual care and enable eligible members to meet with their physicians virtually. Effective Jan. 1, the policy applies to fully insured and self-insured employer plans and will continue to reimburse local primary care physicians, specialists and select therapy providers for administering certain care through telehealth as an alternative to in-person visits.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe new Virtual Primary Care service, which is designed to make it easier for people to establish and maintain a relationship with a primary care physician, is currently available for members enrolled in certain employer-sponsored fully insured or self-funded health plans in 11 states. The service, offered in collaboration with a national telehealth provider group, is expected to be expanded to more states in 2021 and is part of a broader UnitedHealthcare effort to help enable members to use technology to access care.\n<\/p>\n

\nThese updates were unveiled this week during a virtual panel<\/a> featuring an executive from UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) who talked about Virtual Primary Care at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2021, the annual technology conference.\n<\/p>\n

\n\u201cThe UnitedHealthcare Virtual Primary Care service and updated policy helps expand the use of virtual care from delivering care to people who are sick, to now also focusing on preventing and detecting disease before it starts and, if needed, helping people more conveniently manage certain chronic conditions,\u201d said Dr. Anne Docimo, chief medical officer, UnitedHealthcare. \u201cAs more people and care providers move to a digital-first mindset, UnitedHealthcare will continue to modernize our approach to health benefits and invest in new ways to use technology to help make it more convenient for our members to access primary care and other types of medical services.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\nThe number of Americans with a primary care physician has declined recently, with an estimated 25% of people lacking this type of ongoing relationship with a care provider.1<\/sup> Reversing that trend can be important given people with a relationship with a primary care physician may be more likely to receive high-value care services, such as preventive screenings, and report better care access and experiences compared to people without this type of care provider.2<\/sup><\/p>\n

\nAccording to a recent UnitedHealthcare survey<\/a>, one-quarter of respondents said they would actually prefer a virtual relationship with a primary care physician rather than in-person visits. Separately, some people who see a doctor virtually report no difference<\/a> in the quality of the visit, compared to an in-person appointment; meanwhile another study found patients \u201cvastly preferred<\/a>\u201d a virtual experience, due to the convenience and the elimination of travel time.\n<\/p>\n

\nThe Virtual Primary Care service enables eligible members to access primary care appointments with no or little cost-sharing (during the national public health emergency for COVID-19, member cost-sharing will continue to be waived for COVID-19 testing and testing-related visits). Through Virtual Primary Care, eligible members are able to access services such as:\n<\/p>\n