UnitedHealthcare Introduces New Health Plan Offering Lower Premiums and a High-Performing Network in Kansas City
September 29 2020 - 10:00AM
Business Wire
- New plan could save local employers up to 15% on health care
costs
- Kansas City-area residents can save money on premiums and
access care from Saint Luke’s Health System and Children’s
Mercy
Kansas City-area employers can save up to 15% on monthly
premiums with a new health plan from UnitedHealthcare that features
Saint Luke’s Health System and Children’s Mercy Kansas City in its
high-performing network.
The new Core Essential plan provides eligible participants
access to Saint Luke’s Health System, which is continually
recognized on U.S. News and World Report’s Best Hospitals list.
Saint Luke’s consists of 18 hospitals and campuses, 10 convenient
care clinics, more than 130 primary care and specialty offices
treating patients in 65 specialty services, home care and hospice,
behavioral health care and a senior living community. Plan
participants can access care from Saint Luke’s affiliated
physicians and enjoy the flexibility of seeing their doctor through
telehealth services.
The network also includes Children’s Mercy, one of the top
pediatric health systems in the country. Children’s Mercy is
consistently named one of the best children’s hospitals by U.S.
News and World Report and is one of only 14 pediatric hospitals in
the nation to rank in all 10 specialties for the past six years. In
addition to its Adele Hall Campus in Kansas City, Missouri, and
Children’s Mercy Hospital Kansas in Overland Park, Children’s Mercy
has 22 primary care sites throughout the region, four urgent care
centers and a robust telemedicine program.
UnitedHealthcare designed the Core Essential plan to deliver a
new competitive option to Kansas City employers seeking
cost-effective, patient-centered health plans. In addition to the
potential cost-savings for employers, the plan will offer employees
lower monthly premiums compared to other UnitedHealthcare health
plans.
The new plan will be available on Jan. 1 to all fully insured
and self-funded employers in Johnson and Wyandotte counties in
Kansas, as well as Clay, Jackson and Platte counties in Missouri.
Employers can also access the plan if a majority of their employees
live in these five counties, even if their offices or facilities
are located in other counties in Kansas and Missouri.
The introduction of the Core Essential plan is the latest
example of how UnitedHealthcare and Saint Luke’s are collaborating
in an effort to meet the shared goal of improving health outcomes
and lowering health care costs in Kansas City. The collaboration
began in 2017 with the launch of an accountable care organization
(ACO) for members enrolled in UnitedHealthcare's employer-sponsored
health plans. Through the ACO, UnitedHealthcare is providing an
enhanced level of data and support to Saint Luke’s to enable its
physicians to improve health care quality and affordability by
delivering more comprehensive and coordinated care to their
patients.
“We’re introducing Core Essential because we know that many
employers in the Kansas City area are looking for ways to continue
providing quality benefits to their employees but at a more
affordable cost,” said Rob Broomfield, CEO of UnitedHealthcare of
Kansas. “Health plans that feature high-performing networks have
proven to be effective at lowering health care costs, strengthening
the patient-physician relationship, and making it easier and more
convenient for employers to manage their employees’ health care
needs.”
“Saint Luke’s has a long history of working collaboratively with
UnitedHealthcare,” said Randy Meyer, Saint Luke’s Health System
vice president of managed care contracting. “We are pleased that
more people in the 65 counties we serve will be able to benefit
from the high-quality, compassionate care our dedicated physicians
and hospitals provide.”
All plan participants will have access to UnitedHealthcare
resources designed to make the health care system easier and more
convenient to navigate, including dedicated customer care
advocates, tools at myuhc.com, a mobile app, virtual visits and a
24-hour Nurse Line.
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 6,500
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.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200929005725/en/
Tony Marusic UnitedHealthcare 312-348-3825
tony_marusic@uhc.com
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Mar 2024 to Apr 2024
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Apr 2023 to Apr 2024