Lowering Costs to Improve Overall Health Care Value.
Why It Matters
The cost of health care in the United States continues to escalate, driven by rising prices of prescription drugs and an over-reliance on costly health care settings. UnitedHealth Group is addressing affordability challenges by deploying tools and proven capabilities that can deliver the greatest value to people and the broader health care system.
Improving Affordability
Transforming Pharmacy Care Services.
Our pharmacy care services business, OptumRx, goes beyond the prescription to provide care for the people we serve, using data and technology to synchronize pharmacy and medical benefits and empower physicians to make more informed decisions. This approach leads to improved health and a simpler more personalized customer experience, as well as lower total costs.
Spotlight
Optum Specialty Pharmacy
Optum Specialty Pharmacy synchronizes care to improve overall health outcomes, caring for the whole person by connecting care teams and empowering physicians at the point of prescribing with cost and clinical information. This approach links the care people receive, the medicines they take and the behaviors that impact their health. And by applying predictive modeling, we identify the best health or savings opportunities, address gaps in care and help patients avoid harmful drug interactions.
Improving Affordability
The Right Care In The Right Place At The Right Time.
We strive to provide those we serve with a convenient and cost-effective care experience, meeting them at the right place at the right time, whether that’s at home, virtually, at a local physician’s office, in a surgery center, or at a hospital.
Virtual visits average $50 per visit compared to an average of $740 for an emergency room visit.
Spotlight
Virtual Visits
Virtual visits generally cost less than $50 per visit compared to an average of $740 for an emergency room visit for a similar low-severity condition, and this increasingly popular technology is designed to provide people with an alternative way to access care without leaving their home or workplace. UnitedHealthcare’s integrated virtual visits offer on-demand access, 24/7, to health care professionals via a mobile device or computer, helping improve access to more convenient and affordable care for a range of health issues.