The United Health Foundation, the philanthropic foundation of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) – the parent company of UnitedHealthcare and Optum – is donating $1 million to help residents of Florida address urgent response needs following Hurricane Ian.
The funds will be distributed to the Florida Disaster Fund, the state’s official private fund for assisting communities recover and rebuild from disasters and emergencies.
“Our hearts are with the people of Florida whose communities have been devastated by Hurricane Ian,” said Andrew Witty, chief executive officer, UnitedHealth Group. “We are working to assist our members in getting the care they need and to support our care delivery organizations, while providing resources to aid the recovery and rebuilding efforts underway.”
In addition to financial support for the affected communities, UnitedHealth Group is taking the following actions:
- Benefit Flexibility: UnitedHealthcare is offering exceptions on early prescription refills for members and waiving authorization transfers for in-network skilled nursing facilities. Information about additional benefit flexibility will be available here.
- Deployment of Mobile Clinic: Optum will also send multiple mobile response units to address community medical needs, distribute food and water, provide satellite Wi-Fi connection and telemedicine services for both medical and behavioral health for those affected by Hurricane Ian. The mobile clinics, staffed by WellMed and Optum clinicians, are being deployed in various communities.
- Free Emotional-Support Help Line: Optum is offering a free emotional-support help line to people affected by Hurricane Ian. The toll-free number, 1-866-447-3573, is open Monday-Friday, 9 a.m. – 9 p.m. ET. The service is free of charge and open to anyone. Callers may also receive referrals to community resources. Along with the toll-free help line, emotional-support resources and information are available online at www.liveandworkwell.com.
UnitedHealthcare serves the health care needs of more than 3.6 million people statewide.
About UnitedHealth Group
UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) is a diversified health care company dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and helping to 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.
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