By Dan Kueter, CEO of UnitedHealthcare Employer & Individual
The United States has the most innovative and advanced health care system in the world, yet Americans are generally dissatisfied with it. And it's understandable.
Health care costs continue to rise, and at the same time, it's more difficult than it should be for consumers to determine what they'll be expected to pay for health care services, sometimes leading to unexpected medical bills from providers. Very little in health care feels customized or personalized for the patient, unlike what people have grown accustomed to in most other parts of their life.
Health care is deeply personal, which only magnifies the frustration people feel when they confront these aspects of a system that can feel opaque and unpredictable.
The American people deserve more from our health care system
We at UnitedHealthcare believe the American people deserve a better system, and we're committed to doing our part to make that happen.
We are focused on addressing the challenges that are bogging down the health care system, and we bring a unique perspective to these efforts, given insurers are the only player in the system whose core responsibilities are making health care more affordable and helping people navigate a complicated landscape.
That's why health insurance exists in the first place and why 92% of us choose to enroll. Instead of paying several hundred dollars for a doctor appointment or thousands of dollars for a prescription, we typically pay a predictable copay. And if the worst-case scenario happens and we're involved in a major accident or develop a serious illness, we know our plan will help protect us from potentially devastating financial hardship.
Care is more affordable with insurance because of the largely unseen work insurers do to bring down costs, like negotiating competitive rates from hospitals and doctors, and creating digital tools to help people find high-quality providers and facilities. That deep experience and focus on making health care more affordable will be crucial to the ongoing efforts to build a sustainable health care system that works better for the American people.
A new, consumer-oriented focus
We believe one of the best ways to build that type of system is by creating more personalized benefit options designed around what consumers want and need from their health care. Consumer expectations of our health care system continue to climb, driven by standards set in other industries. People expect health care to function like any other industry they interact with in their daily life.
At UnitedHealthcare, we are focused on meeting those expectations and giving our members what they've told us they want: more transparency in health care costs, more access to the care they need, more choices and opportunities to personalize their benefits, and more convenience and simplicity as they navigate the health care system.
We started with Surest. This health plan flips the basic idea of health insurance on its head. No more waiting for the bill to show up to figure out how much you owe for a doctor or hospital visit. People know in advance, using a simple app that shows them their costs upfront. No deductible to hit. And no more guessing which provider is the best option. Surest members can use the app to identify providers that have a track record of delivering effective, cost-efficient care. And they pay a lower co-pay when they choose those providers.
The end result? Surest members comparison shop for health care the same way they do for other services they buy, and they pay 44% less out of pocket on average than people enrolled in traditional employer-sponsored health plans. It's no wonder the plan has become so popular and is now our fastest-growing commercial health plan.
The rapid growth of Surest shows that consumers are ready for this kind of evolution in health benefits. So we've built a new model that takes the simplicity and predictability when accessing care that Surest provides and expands that to other aspects of the health care experience as well.
We took the first step toward building that model when we launched the UnitedHealthcare Hub in 2024. This platform solves a problem employers have grappled with for years. They know their employees value extra benefits and services beyond their standard health benefits — things like family planning, weight loss, and caregiving resources. But for employers, those resources are cumbersome and expensive to manage when purchased from separate vendors. The Hub streamlines this process for employers while also making these resources more easily accessible to their people via our care advocates, myuhc.com, and the UnitedHealthcare app.
Our latest milestone is the launch of the UHC Store this fall. In this new marketplace, people can select from a variety of products and services that can enhance their health and well-being. They can shop for things like popular weight loss programs, apps to help manage orthopedic issues, and resources to support mental health and family planning. It's a far cry from what so many Americans have come to expect from employer-sponsored insurance — just one or possibly two standard health plan options available to every employee. With the UHC Store, signing up for health benefits at work has been modernized for today's American consumer.
We've built a health care benefits model that's vastly different. One that's personalized and customizable, and makes accessing health care as convenient, connected, and easy to understand as any other aspect of daily life. We did this because we want people to be more satisfied with their health coverage, more empowered to take care of themselves and their families, more productive, and more likely to stay with their employer. And so we took critical elements of their benefits that used to be decided by their employer and put the decision-making power in their hands so they can choose what's best for them and their family.
We know we have more work to do, but we're excited about the opportunities to make health care better for the American people. And we believe strongly that no company is better equipped to help make that happen than UnitedHealthcare.
Visit uhc.com/employer to learn more about Surest, the UHC Store, and UnitedHealthcare's additional solutions to help employers meet the needs of their workforce.
This post was created by UnitedHealthcare with Insider Studios.
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