More than 250,000 people across Illinois and northwest Indiana enrolled in select UnitedHealthcare employer-sponsored health plans are now able to buy healthier foods at discounted prices through its Healthy Savings® program.
Healthy Savings provides potential monthly savings of more than $200 on prequalified healthy foods from more than 160 food and beverage brands. Eligible UnitedHealthcare plan participants will receive a Healthy Savings card in the mail, and can shop for the promoted healthy foods and scan their card or mobile phone during checkout at 185 Jewel-Osco®, 44 County Market®, 37 Mariano's™ and 45 Shop 'n Save® locations throughout Illinois and northwest Indiana.
With the Healthy Savings program there is no clipping, printing or downloading of coupons, as discounts are automatically preloaded to member accounts each week. Members simply shop for the promoted healthier foods and scan their card or phone at checkout, and the discounts are instantly subtracted from their bill.
The Healthy Savings website enables people to find nearby participating grocery stores, track accumulated savings through the program, view health information on serving sizes and portions, create a shopping list, and find recipes using healthy and nutritious ingredients.
Healthy food discounts are offered weekly on products in the healthiest one-third of items in a grocery store, including discounts on milk, whole-grain bread, lean meats, yogurt, fresh produce, and hundreds of other qualifying products from more than 160 brands. The food items are measured by the nationally renowned Guiding Stars® nutrition guidance system, which rates the nutritional quality of food using information from the nutrition facts label and the ingredients list.
Last August, UnitedHealthcare introduced the Healthy Savings program to fully insured employer-based plan participants in northern Illinois and northwest Indiana. The positive response prompted UnitedHealthcare to expand the program to additional plan participants, including people enrolled in self-funded employer plans whose employers opt into the program for their employees.
"Healthy Savings helps shoppers make healthier food choices and improve their diets, which can make a tremendous difference in their health and well-being," said Steve Walli, CEO, UnitedHealthcare, Heartland States. "The feedback during the initial phase of this program has been tremendous, and we are thrilled to expand Healthy Savings across Illinois."
The technology behind the Healthy Savings program is powered by Solutran, Inc., a Minnesota-based technology company specializing in electronic benefit transfer systems and payment solutions.
About Healthy Savings®
Healthy Savings® is a program which enables health insurance members to save on healthier foods without having to clip, print, or download coupons. Solutran S3 technology serves as the supporting substantiation platform behind the Healthy Savings program. The mission of Healthy Savings is to unlock the enormous potential within each individual with the goal of working together to improve the way America eats.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with 1 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
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