Take a Stroll Down Health Care Lane

With snow comes thoughts of the upcoming holidays, and walking down shopping streets and malls looking for the ideal gifts. But for UnitedHealthcare and millions of Americans, thoughts are on annual open enrollment season – and selecting the best health benefits for them and their families. But, according to a 2010 study by UnitedHealthcare, Americans spend more time choosing a car than they do selecting health benefits.

In a recent National Assessment of Adult Literacy (NAAL) survey, approximately 36 percent of all U.S. adults lack the necessary skills to read and understand basic information to manage their health. The study also revealed that 88 percent of all adults are less than proficient when it comes to understanding complex health care topics.

At UnitedHealthcare, we’re working to change that by arming employers and consumers with resources to help them make informed choices about their health plan options. We’ve found that accessibility to such information leads to better decisions and better health, which ultimately promotes affordability.

So we invite you to take a stroll down Health Care Lane.

Health Care Lane is both an online experience and a “brick-and-mortar” exhibit that bring the interactive website to life. Both versions of Health Care Lane are designed to improve consumer health literacy and help employers experience the many different health care programs they can put in place for their workforce.

As individuals stroll through this highly interactive town – either in person or online, they may visit the “Public Library” to learn about various health insurance terms and what UnitedHealthcare is doing about health literacy; the “Pharmacy” to get more information on managing prescriptions, keeping costs low and understanding the differences between brand-names and generics; the “Fitness Center” to find out more about wellness and preventive programs and healthy lifestyles; the “WiFi Café” to use online health tools and cost calculators; and the “Town Bank” to learn about financial tools and accounts, such as Health Savings Accounts.

While Health Care Lane is an engaging way to learn about health benefits, it is one of hundreds of Internet sites that provide consumers with good basic health and health benefits information. Or, visit a real library or fitness center or doctor’s office to get more information for better health.

As we near the beginning of the holiday season and the end of benefits open enrollment season – and our pending New Year’s resolutions, we encourage a trip down Health Care Lane or other health information destinations to get more educated and more engaged – so you and your family can live healthier lives.

Health Care Lane arrives in Philadelphia on Tuesday, November 8. For more information, visit www.healthcarelane.com/philly. We look forward to seeing you there. If you cannot join us in person, please take a stroll down Health Care Lane at www.healthcarelane.com.

Evolving Role of the Broker

As temperatures begin to cool and the days get shorter, thoughts turn to the holidays and the hope for some time to reenergize before kicking off a new year.  However, at UnitedHealthcare, we are busier than ever helping businesses find high quality, affordable health benefits solutions options for 2012.

But I did take time out of this hectic schedule to pause and spend some time looking beyond January 1, 2012.  Recently, I had the pleasure of joining leading health insurance executives at a panel discussion hosted by the Greater Philadelphia Association of Health Underwriters.  I thank GPAHU president Jerry McGlone and all GPAHU leaders for once again hosting a lively discussion on the issues impacting health care coverage today and in the future, including the evolving role of technology to empower consumers, the increasing focus on evidence-based guidelines, the heightened emphasis on wellness and the post-2014 benefits plans mix.

We also spent some time talking about health care exchanges and the ever-changing role of the broker.  I have a special place in my heart for health insurance brokers since I spent about half my career working as a broker.  A lot is being made about the imminent demise of the broker, but as Mark Twain once said “reports of my death are greatly exaggerated.”

Brokers are needed more now than ever before… and that will only increase as health care reform continues to roll out throughout the states. Brokers already have a “trusted adviser” status with many of their client businesses yet must evolve even further. 

Employers will still play an integral role in either offering plans themselves or helping employees navigate as-yet developed health care exchanges.  Businesses, especially smaller ones, will not have the time or resources to wade through the myriad of plan options, reform regulations and business incentives that will continue to roll out across the states and/or through federal health care reform… and this will be to their detriment.

Brokers can help employers take advantage of certain changes but must shift away from low-value tasks to make time for ones of greater importance to clients, such as helping create health and wellness solutions to address unique health and affordability needs.  For example, our brokers have played an important role in helping us develop new plan designs and wellness programs and we stand ready to partner with them as we continue to meet the benefits needs of businesses.

And, brokers will become the “consumer educators.”  Consumers who traditionally have been given one benefit plan – or maybe two options – will now have many choices especially when exchanges roll out in 2014 – and many are ill-prepared to make the best choice for themselves and their families.  Who better to help them make those decisions than someone who has a unique vantage point on health benefit offerings?   Enlightened brokers may become the best stewards to help clients and their employees navigate the ever-more turbulent health care market.

We look forward to enhancing our relationships with brokers and playing a vital part in their transformation – as we all hopefully share a goal to help individuals live healthier lives.

UnitedHealthcare is bringing Health Care Lane to Philadelphia on Tuesday, November 8.  We look forward to seeing you there!