SSM Health and Optum Launch Innovative Collaboration to Make Quality Care More Accessible and Affordable
October 07 2021 - 3:30PM
Business Wire
Relationship includes a joint investment by
SSM Health and UnitedHealth Group in Community Programs to Advance
Health Equity
SSM Health and Optum, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:
UNH), announced an innovative collaboration focused on making
quality care more accessible and affordable for people across the
Midwest. Together, the organizations will work to improve the
overall well-being of individuals and communities – while
addressing the complex social and economic factors affecting each
person’s health.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211007005785/en/
SSM Health and Optum will partner across certain functions –
including inpatient care management, digital transformation and
revenue cycle management – to improve health outcomes and patients’
health care experiences. The organizations also will collaborate to
redefine the consumer health care journey through the design and
development of a seamless digital experience to simplify patient
access to the care and services they need.
“Creating a new ecosystem of care requires bringing together the
best and the brightest to collaborate for the common good,” said
Laura S. Kaiser, FACHE, president and chief executive officer, SSM
Health. “The commitment of UnitedHealth Group and Optum to
improving health care experiences and outcomes for everyone aligns
well with SSM Health’s Mission to ensure all people have access to
high-quality, compassionate and affordable care. We are excited to
partner with them to achieve our vision of transforming health care
in America – and address the health equity gap for the most
vulnerable in society.”
To help advance health equity, UnitedHealth Group and SSM Health
will jointly invest in vital community health programs to ensure
the disadvantaged and vulnerable have equal access to quality
health care services. These efforts will focus on closing the
health equity gap and critical health priorities in the communities
SSM Health serves throughout the Midwest.
“We are thrilled to partner with SSM Health to advance a
next-generation holistic approach to health that empowers all
people to lead their healthiest lives,” said Dan Schumacher, chief
strategy and growth officer of UnitedHealth Group. “This new
relationship further builds on Optum’s support of local care
systems across the country to enhance affordable, patient-centric
care that is easy to access, sustainable and high-quality.”
To better serve the health care needs of people across the
Midwestern communities SSM Health serves, SSM Health and Optum
will:
- Use clinical technologies, advanced analytic tools and delivery
of data-driven insights at the point of care to reduce care
variation and co-develop an inpatient care delivery model that
improves quality and patient outcomes, while reducing unnecessary
costs.
- Implement new and best-in-class technologies to innovate and
streamline the billing experience for patients and providers and
accelerate SSM Health’s progress to market-leading patient
satisfaction across all revenue cycle operations.
- Advance consumer engagement by designing a seamless digital
experience that spans the patient journey. This will simplify
patient access to the care and services they need, improving their
experiences and resulting in stronger provider-patient
relationships, increased patient loyalty and lower costs.
“SSM Health is a leading health system serving the comprehensive
health needs of communities across the Midwest, and we are honored
to partner with them in providing exceptional health care
services,” said Rick Hardy, chief executive officer, OptumInsight.
“We look forward to sharing our advanced technology and insights,
while benefiting from SSM Health’s clinical expertise and
experience in community health, patient engagement and integrated
health care delivery.”
As a part of this new relationship, certain SSM Health team
members across revenue cycle management and hospital care
management will become employees of Optum. They will continue to
support SSM Health and its Mission – working in their current
locations across Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and Wisconsin. Both
SSM Health and Optum are committed to ensuring a smooth transition
and exceptional experience for patients, employees and
providers.
About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care
company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and
helping make the health system work better for everyone.
UnitedHealth Group offers a broad spectrum of products and services
through two distinct platforms: UnitedHealthcare, which provides
health care coverage and benefits services; and Optum, which
provides information and technology-enabled health services. For
more information, visit UnitedHealth Group at
www.unitedhealthgroup.com or follow @UnitedHealthGrp on
Twitter.
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 190,000 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). For more information, visit
www.Optum.com.
About SSM Health
SSM Health is a Catholic, not-for-profit health system serving
the comprehensive health needs of communities across the Midwest
through a robust and fully integrated health care delivery system.
The organization’s nearly 40,000 employees and 11,000 providers are
committed to providing exceptional health care services and
revealing God’s healing presence to everyone they serve.
With care delivery sites in Illinois, Missouri, Oklahoma and
Wisconsin, SSM Health includes 23 hospitals, more than 290
physician offices and other outpatient and virtual care services,
10 post-acute facilities, comprehensive home care and hospice
services, a pharmacy benefit company, a health insurance company
and an accountable care organization. It is one of the largest
employers in every community it serves. For more information, visit
ssmhealth.com or find us on Facebook and Twitter.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20211007005785/en/
Optum Media Contact: Gwen Holliday 202-549-3429
gwen.m.holliday@optum.com
SSM Health Media Contact: Patrick Kampert 314-989-5077
Patrick.Kampert@ssmhealth.com
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
UnitedHealth (NYSE:UNH)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024