Case study: School district works to give employees a supportive health care experience
With UnitedHealthcare, Minneapolis Public Schools has experienced a higher utilization of benefits, quicker resolution of issues and an improved health care experience for employees.
Building healthier workplaces together
Around 6,300 benefits-eligible teachers, administrators and other staff members fill the 87 Minneapolis Public Schools (MPS) buildings throughout the metro area — which has a rich history dating back to 1834 when the first school was founded.
Funded by taxpayer dollars, MPS recognized that working with a carrier capable of providing quality benefits and offering hands-on support was vital to offering a more competitive and enticing compensation package.
That’s what led MPS to switch to UnitedHealthcare, with Peter Ronza, director of total compensation for MPS, indicating that the relationship and level of service provided by UnitedHealthcare has been “flawless and unmatched” compared to other vendors he’s worked with.
Designing benefits that support all MPS employees — from teachers and custodians to administrators and food service personnel — is where the strategic guidance of UnitedHealthcare has made a difference.
Offering employees a competitive benefits package
$33.7M
in total savings generated from UnitedHealthcare programs beyond contracted discounts1
“The collaboration with UnitedHealthcare has enabled us to do even more than we were doing before,” Ronza says. “We’ve come a very long way, not only bringing our benefits to where they should be but doing so in a fiscally responsible way.”
“You have to go through a prioritization phase by making sure that the student is at the center of the decisions that we make,” says Ibrahima Diop, chief of finance and operations for MPS.
For MPS, that meant offering employees an expansive provider network and a generous suite of benefits and programs through UnitedHealthcare, along with an on-site clinic to help make health care more accessible and affordable, especially for its lower-paid employees.
Through this clinic, employees and their covered dependents can receive primary care services, labs and medications for common conditions, while also receiving referrals to UnitedHealthcare network providers or clinical programs as needed.
“The more employees don’t have to worry about their health, the more they can concentrate at work,” Ronza says.
Engaging employees for better health plan utilization
Offering benefits is one thing, but getting employees to understand how to use them is another. “Health care is really useless unless employees know how to use it,” Ronza says.
With guidance from UnitedHealthcare, MPS has been — and continues to be — able to identify opportunities to better engage and educate its employees about the health benefits available to them.
This includes looking at claims data and utilization patterns to help inform wellness initiatives and targeted employee communications. For instance, a multi-touch email and direct mail campaign promoting preventive care led by UnitedHealthcare, in addition to the wellness activities led by MPS, likely contributed to the nearly 3-point increase in the percentage of adults who received a wellness visit in 2023.2
Delivering a more supportive health care experience
473
the number of members assisted by UnitedHealthcare on-site service account manager3
Understanding how much the employee experience matters to MPS, UnitedHealthcare assigned a dedicated on-site service account manager, James Bennett, to help employees and their families understand their coverage and benefits information and resolve billing or claims issues.
“James has been a huge benefit,” Ronza says. “UnitedHealthcare has allowed our employees to have somebody they can talk to, who can look at things we can’t look at and offer support.”
In one situation, an MPS employee was undergoing a transplant and received numerous bills for various appointments, tests and more. James brought clarity, helping the employee more effectively navigate their health care journey.
This level of service has also made Ronza’s job easier and strengthened the relationship between MPS and UnitedHealthcare.
“I’ve worked with a variety of health benefit vendors throughout the course of my career, but the experience with UnitedHealthcare and their service has been flawless and unmatched.”
