News Briefs Archive

UnitedHealth’s New Telemedicine App

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.

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.

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