In a consumer breakthrough tied to new ways of organizing health care, UnitedHealthcare will offer many of its Medicare Advantage members in North Carolina lower co-pays when they receive care from primary care providers and most specialists affiliated with Cornerstone Health Care, Eagle Physicians & Associates, Guilford Medical Associates, Novant Health and Triad HealthCare Network.
Referred to as “tier 1 care providers” to help members easily identify them, these providers participate in accountable care programs with UnitedHealthcare and meet other performance criteria. They have committed to being compensated based on their ability to improve the coordination and delivery of care to UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage members, thereby closing gaps in care, reducing redundant, inefficient care, and improving health outcomes, all while lowering the overall cost of care.
Nearly 55,000 beneficiaries enrolled in three AARP MedicareComplete (HMO) Medicare Advantage plans in North Carolina will pay a lower co-pay for a standard office visit when they visit a tier 1 primary care provider or specialist.*
The co-pays for primary care provider visits will vary based on the member’s plan.
- People enrolled in the AARP MedicareComplete Plan 1 (HMO) and AARP MedicareComplete Essential (HMO) plans will pay a $0 co-pay for visits with tier 1 primary care providers, as compared to $10 for tier 2 primary care providers.
- People enrolled in the AARP MedicareComplete Plan 2 (HMO) will also pay a $0 co-pay for visits with tier 1 primary care providers, as compared to $20 for tier 2 primary care providers.
People enrolled in all three plans will pay a $35 co-pay for standard office visits with tier 1 specialists, as compared to $50 for tier 2 specialists.
The plans are available in the following counties: Alamance, Cabarrus, Caldwell, Caswell, Catawba, Chatham, Cleveland, Cumberland, Davidson, Davie, Durham, Forsyth, Guilford, Henderson, Iredell, Lincoln, Mecklenburg, Orange, Person, Randolph, Rockingham, Rowan, Stokes, Union, Wake, Wilkes and Yadkin.
In addition to this new opportunity to save money, individuals enrolled in these plans will continue to have access to a broad network of doctors. They’ll have a choice of more than 5,100 primary care doctors and nearly 15,500 specialists.*
“The tier 1 care providers have demonstrated a strong commitment to improving health outcomes for their patients and our members,” said Charles Russo, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement in North Carolina. “We hope that offering lower co-pays when our members visit tier 1 doctors will enable people to experience the benefits of well-coordinated care, including improved health and a better health care experience.”
Serving nearly one in five beneficiaries, UnitedHealthcare is the largest provider of Medicare Advantage, Medicare supplement and Part D prescription drug plans nationally.* UnitedHealthcare serves 1.1 million people in North Carolina, including more than 430,000 Medicare beneficiaries.*
To learn more about UnitedHealthcare’s full portfolio of Medicare plans, visit www.UHCMedicarePlan.com.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
*UnitedHealthcare Internal Data, 2015
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