UnitedHealthcare to Offer Eligible Members 24/7 Virtual Visits At No Additional Cost
UHC announced that they will eliminate out-of-pocket costs for 24/7 Virtual Visits for eligible members enrolled in applicable fully insured employer-sponsored plans. For fully-insured California Small Business as well as fully-insured out-of-state Small Business (excluding Arkansas and Hawaii), this change will go into effect January 1, 2024, for new business and existing business upon renewal beginning.
June 28, 2023
UnitedHealthcare to Offer Eligible Members 24/7 Virtual Visits At No Additional Cost
UnitedHealthcare will eliminate out-of-pocket costs for 24/7 Virtual Visits for eligible members enrolled in applicable fully insured employer-sponsored plans*, offering plan participants an option to access care professionals anytime to help treat a range of medical issues.
Eliminating out-of-pocket expenses for 24/7 Virtual Visits may help improve health equity by reducing the burden of medical costs for consumers and encourage earlier interventions, which can reduce the risk of complications and avoid visits to costlier settings such as the emergency room. 24/7 Virtual Visits are designed as a supplement to services delivered by local care providers, which conduct approximately 95% of virtual care appointments among UnitedHealthcare members.¹
The coverage enhancement is part of UnitedHealthcare’s broader efforts to help people to use technology to access quality care at a lower cost, bolstered by an annual enterprise-wide investment of over $5 billion in data, technology, research and innovation. ²
With 24/7 Virtual Visits, members can connect on demand to a doctor by video or phone through myuhc.com or the UnitedHealthcare app, including national care providers such as Optum Virtual Care. Participating doctors, all of whom are licensed at the state level and have been vetted for providing quality care, can treat a wide range of health conditions, from flu and pinkeye to migraines and more, and may prescribe medication as needed. 24/7 Virtual Visits may treat many of the same conditions as an ER or urgent care, offering a more convenient and affordable alternative — particularly at night or on weekends when many primary care providers are usually unavailable.
The new coverage enhancement will become available to some fully insured plans at renewal starting July 1, 2023, including an option for employers with self-funded plans to adopt a similar policy for their employees.
Contact your UnitedHealthcare representative for more information.
* Coverage policy may not be available in all states and is subject to regulatory approval; some eligible fully insured plans already have $0 copays for 24/7 Virtual Visits.
1 UnitedHealthcare internal analysis, 2022
2 Our Mission in Action 2021 Sustainability Report. UnitedHealth Group, June 14, 2022. Available: https://sustainability.uhg.com/content/dam/sustainability-report/2021/pdf/2021-sustainability-report.pdf. Accessed: Aug. 1, 2022