History & Innovation

As the nation faces a growing shortage of primary care and specialist physicians, UnitedHealth Group has partnered with Cisco to build the first, nationwide telehealth network that will give patients access to physicians and specialists when in-person visits are not possible. Our "Connected Care" initiative will use state-of-the-art teleconferencing and electronic health records technology to greatly expand physicians' reach into underserved areas, both rural and urban. More information about the Connected Care initiative is available at www.ConnectedCareAmerica.com.

UnitedHealthcare’s Diabetes Health Plan pioneers the use of incentives for individuals with diabetes and pre-diabetes to better manage their conditions. Diabetes is one of the most prevalent and preventable chronic diseases confronting workers and employers today, costing the U.S. economy $174 billion annually. By keeping individuals with diabetes and pre-diabetes healthier, the Diabetes Health Plan helps them delay or prevent complications and expensive, late-stage catastrophic care. The plan provides people with strong financial and health incentives for better managing their care, including some supplies and medication at no charge, as well as lower copayments for related doctors' visits, at an estimated savings of roughly $500 per year. By personalizing this plan to the needs of the individual patient, the program can drive better health outcomes and reduce costs for everyone.

The eSync Platform is a powerful new technology that helps build a detailed health portrait of each patient and then delivers customized health care management solutions directly to the individual. By combining a wide range of health data, such as medical claims, health and lifestyle choices and demographic factors, UnitedHealth Group can turn this information into a practical blueprint for effective, personalized plans based on actual health care needs. Patients may receive background information about an upcoming medical procedure, or a reminder to schedule an annual exam, or tips on starting an exercise plan, all based on their personal needs. eSync also powers the ability to proactively reach out to high-risk customers and offer them the opportunity to participate in programs specifically designed to reduce their health risks.

OptumHealth Financial Services includes OptumHealth Bank, Member FDIC. Dedicated, integrated health banking was pioneered by UnitedHealth Group in 2003 with the introduction of Exante Bank. Renamed in 2008, OptumHealth Bank has now become a leading administrator of health savings accounts for individuals and families.

UnitedHealthcare believes that offering credible, understandable information empowers consumers to make more informed decisions, and motivates health care professionals to deliver high quality care at the lowest price – ultimately creating a better health care system for all. The UnitedHealth Premium^® designation program was developed in collaboration with leading employers, physician and hospital advisory groups and consumer feedback. It is designed to make it easier for consumers to navigate the health care system by providing them with tools to compare physician and facility quality and cost information. The program also supports physicians and facilities in their efforts to improve care delivery by providing them with actionable feedback through high-level performance and detailed patient reports.

UnitedHealthcare took an important step in promoting patient care based on the best available clinical data by adopting standards for determining chemotherapy drug coverage outlined by the National Comprehensive Cancer Network. This alliance of 21 of the nation’s leading cancer centers created a compendium on recommended drugs and biologics based on the independent evaluation of available scientific evidence, integrated with the expert judgment of leading clinicians, and, UnitedHealthcare became the first coverage provider to base their policies on this evidence-based authority.

UnitedHealth Continuity is a unique patent-pending health insurance solution that guarantees future insurability for individuals and families when they need it. With Continuity, consumers need to go through the medical underwriting process only once, at the time of application. Once they are approved, their coverage is guaranteed, and they can turn it “on” or “off” when their needs change, as many times as necessary. Continuity enables people to change employment or retire before Medicare eligibility without worrying about gaps in their health coverage. In addition, consumers can choose from a wide range of health plans, deductibles and optional benefits including traditional health insurance plans, health savings account plans and lower-cost high-deductible plans.

UnitedHealth Group's enhanced health care ID swipe card technology helps bring the benefits of information technology to the health care industry by streamlining administration and saving costs. Much like a credit card, UnitedHealth Group's health care ID cards are equipped with a magnetic stripe on the back, providing doctors and hospitals with real-time access to patient benefits and eligibility information and medical claim history, including pharmacy and lab claim data. It also allows physicians to submit claims online and receive a fully adjudicated response in seconds. Broader use of swipe card technology could save medical practices and hospitals an estimated $1 billion a year, according to the Medical Group Management Association.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration uses i3 Aperio^® to review health care data relating to new prescription drug experiences and identify data signals that may indicate potential drug safety issues. i3 Aperio is a first-in-class medical product safety surveillance tool, offered by Ingenix, that integrates Ingenix technology, epidemiological expertise and clinical data capabilities to provide continuous and contemporary real-world health care experience data on millions of patients.

As the model for dynamic, consumer-driven health plans gained market momentum, UnitedHealth Group acquired Definity Health, a national market leader in the consumer-driven health benefits marketplace. Definity was founded in Minneapolis in 1998 and provided health benefits to nearly 100 employers, including 23 of the Fortune 500. The acquisition of Definity Health has advanced UnitedHealth Group’s efforts to achieve greater consumer engagement and individual benefits ownership.

Galaxy was developed by Ingenix as a single source for individual customer, care provider, policy, product, pharmacy, financial and statistical claims data. It is one of the most comprehensive data warehouses in the health care industry with the ability to enable statistically valid measurement and analyses of health care utilization, effectiveness and cost.

For years, patients who needed to see a specialist were required to first see their primary care physician, get a referral and then have the referral approved by their coverage plan. For patients and doctors, the experience was often frustrating and bureaucratic - and there was little evidence it was cost-effective. So UnitedHealthcare took the lead in eliminating the requirement for prior authorization. Those resources were then channeled into Care Coordination, a new system for consumer and physician outreach for patients who benefit most from coordination of fragmented care delivery. By breaking industry norms, UnitedHealthcare helped to better facilitate access to care for patients and decrease administrative paperwork for physicians.

During 1998, the company undertook a significant realignment of its operations into six independent, yet strategically linked businesses, each dedicated to meeting the health and well-being needs of a unique market segment. To more accurately reflect the breadth and structure of this new company, the corporate organization, United HealthCare Corporation, was renamed UnitedHealth Group. A new graphic identity was introduced for UnitedHealth Group that includes the logotype combined with a symbol, representing the letter “U.” The symbol is comprised of steps or tiers that suggest the multi-dimensional nature of UnitedHealth Group as the parent of a diverse health and well-being company.

More than a decade before "comparative outcomes research" became part of the current debate on health reform, United HealthCare issued "best practices" clinical profiles, closely working with leading physicians and mining the enterprise's rich and deep data banks. The sophisticated use of data helped lead United HealthCare to become the first to drop most of the cumbersome "preauthorization" rules within the next year.

To reduce the time and cost associated with processing claims submitted by physicians on behalf of patients nationwide, United HealthCare created AdjudiPro, an advanced system for automating much of the claims review process. In 1996, this innovative technology – which is entered into the permanent research collection of the Smithsonian Institution – was awarded the CIO Enterprise Value Award. The system remains a breakthrough in demonstrating how modern technology can make core functions of the health care system more modern and more efficient and allow more resources to be dedicated to helping people live healthier lives.

Like many of its innovations, United HealthCare's Report Cards, rating quality, cost, and other factors of our plans give patients the information they need to make wise choices for their own health care. At the time, United HealthCare was the only company to issue such reports on its quality and performance; however, the industry has widely adopted self-ratings in the intervening years.

The transplant network is an example of UnitedHealth Group's leadership role in applying evidence-based comparative effectiveness data to improve patient care and to reduce costs for the health care system. By providing statistically valid ratings of the quality and cost-effectiveness of transplant facilities and physicians, the program encourages patients to seek better care and helps physicians and medical facilities improve their practices. By increasing survivor rates and controlling medical complications, the transplant network contributes to significant savings on the costs of transplant care. The application of comparative effectiveness data in other areas of medical care brings the same benefits to both patients and the health care system.

United HealthCare pioneered the containment of prescription drug costs for consumers through the use of pharmacy benefit management services (PBMs). PBMs manage payments for prescription drug claims. Because of their purchasing power on behalf of many consumers, they negotiate better prices with drug makers and pharmacies. PBMs are widely used in the industry today.

From its earliest days, United HealthCare Corporation has focused strongly on the health needs of seniors. More than 30 years ago, we participated in early experimental programs offering private market alternatives for Medicare and developed the first policies designed specifically for seniors. This was a strong indicator of the future. We have become a leading provider of health care products and services to seniors, including Medicare Supplement plans in association with AARP.

UnitedHealth Group's commitment to help people live healthier lives and to innovative thinking is an integral part of the company's heritage. UnitedHealth Group (named United HealthCare Corporation in 1977) traces its roots back to Dr. Paul Ellwood, the health-policy guru who coined the term “health maintenance organization” in the 1960s and helped entrepreneur Richard Burke found the company in 1977. The business was based on using the best practices in medical care and the best thinking in business management to improve the health of patients while strengthening the health care system. Through its many health care innovations, UnitedHealth Group today touches more than 70 million Americans.