How to Use Supplemental Benefits Plans to Support Employee Health

By Tom Wiffler, CEO, UnitedHealthcare Specialty Benefits

For anyone confronted with an unexpected medical issue, the physical and financial stress can be daunting. To alleviate as many of those concerns as possible, it is important to have a plan in place to help facilitate access to quality care and support, especially when it comes to easing the administrative process and enabling faster payouts under qualified benefit plans.

New integrated claims programs are helping to do just that, aiding people enrolled in supplemental health plans, such as accident, critical illness or hospital indemnity. The goal is to simplify and expedite payouts for employees whose employers combine supplemental health plans with medical benefits, assisting people when they need it most.

While these supplemental plans provide valuable coverage to employees, in some cases people may forget they’ve enrolled, leading to a delayed payout or no payout at all following a qualified accident, critical illness diagnosis or hospital stay. To address this issue, Benefit Assist from UnitedHealthcare is helping speed up payouts by using artificial intelligence to identify people who may qualify.

Here’s how it works:

• After a possible covered critical illness diagnosis, hospital stay or accident is identified, a Benefit Assistant contacts an eligible UnitedHealthcare member.
• The Benefit Assistant initiates the claim, eliminating the need for the member to collect and submit necessary documentation.
• Through the dedicated support from the Benefit Assistant, the member receives a payout more quickly and easily, enabling them to focus on recovery.
  

Since launch, 77% of supplemental health claims have been initiated by Benefit Assistants, helping increase total dollars paid out by 66%.[1] Through these benefits, payouts can reach $5,000 or more under accident and hospital indemnity plans and $40,000 for critical illness coverage*. These plans can help pay for out-of-pocket expenses that may accompany a major illness or accidental injury, offering additional financial protection for the 45% of Americans who would struggle to cover an unexpected $500 medical expense.[2]  

Benefit Assist is offered to eligible members enrolled in both a UnitedHealthcare medical and UnitedHealthcare supplemental health plan, including accident, critical illness or hospital indemnity protection.

For more information or to add a UnitedHealthcare supplemental health plan to your employee benefits package, visit uhc.com/MMAC or contact an MMAC-affiliated broker.

*For illustration purposes only, with actual coverage amounts varying by plan; coverage amounts reflect a benefit payout per plan participant per year.
[1] UnitedHealthcare Book of Business, 1/1/2020-11/23/2020.
[2] Kaiser Family Foundation. Public worries about and experience with surprise medical bills. Available: kff.org/health-costs/poll-finding/data-note-public-worries-about-and-experience-with-surprise-medical-bills/. Accessed: Feb. 2020.