Migration update: Wave 1 complete
On January 1, we began migrating pharmacy benefit services for UnitedHealthcare members from Medco to OptumRx. As we bring an additional 12 million commercial members onto the OptumRx platform by the end of 2013, we are committed to keeping you informed throughout the migration.
The first wave of members and clients that transitioned included our own UnitedHealth Group employees, as well as clients in every market segment-large national employers, key accounts, small businesses and Public Sector. This wave included almost 400,000 existing commercial members. Additionally, OptumRx added 700,000 new business commercial members on January 1.
Successful beginning
Over the past year, we've reported regularly about our migration preparations. We invested heavily in expanded infrastructure, personnel and testing processes, to assist in a smooth transition for our customers and members.
As a result, the first migration wave is off to a successful start. We processed claims and answered member calls within expected times and volumes. Here are some additional performance measurements:
| Key Performance Metrics for Wave 1 Customers |
| Claims processed |
301,516 (as of 2/2/13) |
| Benefit set-up accuracy |
99.8% |
| Mail prescriptions shipped |
22,565 mail scripts for transitioning customers in January 2013 |
| Member calls received (Rx) |
31,592 (YTD as of 2/8/13) |
| Average seconds to answer member calls (Rx) |
11 seconds (YTD as of 2/8/13) |
Migration Command Center
As noted above, we will transition millions of members throughout 2013. Successfully managing a move of this scale is enhanced by a regional approach, as retail pharmacies experience the wave largely at one time in one wave.
A regional approach also provides a systematic way to monitor migration activities, identify potential issues and immediately engage to resolve them. This is the role of our migration command center, which consists of a cross-functional team of subject matter experts.
For example, while the majority of our business migrated smoothly, teams were in place to resolve a few isolated issues. Our technical team moved quickly in collaboration with our command center to identify root causes and implement solutions. And we will continue to improve and streamline our systems as the migration proceeds.
Well prepared
Wave 2 is scheduled for April 1, 2013. This wave includes many of our customers and members in the West and Northeast regions.
It's important to note that, in addition to many rigorous tests before implementing Wave 1, we will also be conducting additional tests prior to each subsequent wave.
As mentioned, we expect continued improvement in our processes and systems as the migration proceeds. The reason is that there is a carry-over effect from one test scenario to the next, leading to progressively higher accuracy results. This is a direct result of identifying issues and resolving them at each stage prior to the migration. We are working diligently to help you feel confident in our preparation for the second transition wave on April 1, as well as for the waves to follow.
While the migration process primarily concerns our integrated carve-in business, OptumRx is a full-service PBM, ready to serve every client's needs. For example, we installed over 200,000 new carve-out members this past January 1.
Thank you for your support and continued interest in our progress, programs and services. Please feel free to contact your OptumRx or UnitedHealthcare representative for questions about the transition.
© 2013 United HealthCare Services, Inc.
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