UnitedHealthcare Launches Concierge-Style Plan, Free Primary Care

UnitedHealthcare and Canopy Health are introducing a new employer-sponsored, concierge-style health plan that incorporates free access to primary care services.

“In designing the California Doctors Plan, we wanted to not only offer significant cost-savings but also a more personalized, simplified and coordinated care experience that can help people improve their health and well-being,” said Steve Cain, chief executive officer of UnitedHealthcare in Northern California.

The payer projects that members will save up to 25 percent compared to other health plan premiums.  Also, plan members will have no copay for primary care services and urgent care.

Members can access a provider any time and any day of the week through the plan’s telehealth features, including the UnitedHealthcare app, myuhc.com, and virtual care options.

The member’s primary care provider heads a coordinated care team to orchestrate patient-centered care.

This is not the partnership’s first joint health plan. The payer-provider partnership stretches back to 2017, when UnitedHealthcare brought Canopy Health into its SignatureValue HMO plan network. The network encompasses 5,000 bay area physicians and 19 hospitals, including some of the most notable health systems in the region.

Then, in 2020 the two launched the UnitedHealthcare Canopy Health Medicare Advantage plan.

“Our relationship with Canopy Health is working so well because we share a commitment to providing consumers and employers with high-value health care,” explained Cain.

The health plan will be available in nine California counties in the San Francisco bay area.

The payer and provider are pursuing a concierge model for this health plan to improve troubleshooting strategies and enhance member experience.

“To enhance the customer experience, UnitedHealthcare has developed a dedicated service team that provides personalized concierge support for members enrolled in the California Doctors Plan, Signature Value HMO plan and UnitedHealthcare Canopy Health Medicare Advantage plan,” the press release explained.

UnitedHealthcare is not the only payer to employ a concierge approach. Not far away in Orange, California, Alignment Healthcare’s new virtual Medicare Advantage plan will leverage Alignment Healthcare’s concierge approach to both care and service.

“Alignment has succeeded because we solve these critical gaps for our growing member base nationwide with our concierge-like care and service model and our powerful data engine,” explained John Kao, founder and chief executive officer of Alignment Healthcare, said in the press release.

The approach entails frequent member engagement and involves both addressing requests from members and actively reaching out to members to prevent potential issues.

Concierge-style services and care delivery can help payers personalize their approach to member engagement.

“Navigators, concierge services and virtual resources are expanding to help consumers take some of the complexity out of accessing care and to better anticipate and address their unique needs,” explained a National Business Group on Health report as it predicted trends for 2019.

This style, if successful, could appropriately satisfy the UnitedHealthcare-Canopy Health partnership’s aims.

The press release noted several goals that the companies have incorporated into their multi-year strategy, including:

• Building a robust data and analytics infrastructure
• Improving care transitions
• Reinforcing in-home palliative care
• Establishing a personalized, digital member experience

“Sharing the goal of creating an integrated, personalized and affordable health care experience for people in the Bay Area, the organizations are focused on working together to improve health outcomes while also lowering the total cost of care,” the press release summarized.

These goals fall in line with UnitedHealthcare’s focal points that the company shared in its earnings call as it emerged from the tumultuous but profitable second quarter of 2020.

UnitedHealthcare, like many payers, has seen increased profit margins due to the influence of the pandemic. The company saw 1.5 its net earnings in the second quarter. The question that the public—and the federal government—has been asking is: what will payers do with that profit?

UnitedHealthcare executives pointed toward several strong performance areas that would continue to carry the payer forward into the second half of 2020 including virtual care initiatives, home healthcare programs, and data analytics.