Oct. 16, 2019
The country’s largest private payer, UnitedHealth, is rolling out a new virtual-care app for the more than 27 million Americans covered in its employer-sponsored health plans, according to reporting by Rebecca Pifer on Healthcare Dive.
The new UnitedHealthcare app gives users access to a practitioner via mobile device or computer. Beneficiaries can use it to schedule and conduct a virtual visit with a doctor. Physicians can diagnose a range of conditions during the visit and prescribe and send medications to local pharmacies for pickup.
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The app will be free for the majority of people enrolled in the Minnetonka, Minn.-based payer’s employer-sponsored plans, but consumers may have to pay additional out-of-pocket costs for telemedicine services depending on their plan and state requirements.
The app, which will eventually replace an older app, allows users to access their health plan ID and e-mail it to providers, manage prescriptions, shop for care for roughly 800 medical services by service, condition, provider and facility, locate nearby health-care facilities and view the status of their deductible and out-of-pocket spending.
UnitedHealth currently contracts with telehealth vendors Teladoc, American Well and Doctor on Demand to offer virtual visits, though it is in talks to partner with local providers.