Our response to COVID-19

Virtual Visits through our preferred telehealth partners help members access 24/7 urgent care from home. Medicare Advantage and Medicaid members continue to access their existing telehealth benefit offered through one of our designated partners without cost-sharing. For members with a telehealth benefit through their employer-sponsored plan, cost-sharing will be waived until June 18, 2020.

Local health care providers may be able to provide a telehealth visit. These telehealth visits can be for urgent care, routine medical care or outpatient behavioral care, delivered through audio/visual or audio-only technologies. Members may also be able to have a telehealth visit for physical, occupational or speech therapies, delivered via interactive audio/visual technology.

Cost-sharing is waived for in-network telehealth visits from March 31, 2020 until June 18, 2020 for members with Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, Individual and Group Market fully insured health plans. We will continue to work with self-funded customers who want us to implement a similar approach. Out-of-network telehealth services will be covered in accordance with members' health plan benefits.

UHC.com and UHCprovider.com are the information hubs for the latest details on care, support and resources, including access to health plan accounts for personalized digital care. On UHC.com, we are providing COVID-19 information that supports our members and their families. From talking to children about COVID-19 to how to access care and understand changes in benefits, members can expect ongoing updates to help them stay informed.

On UHCprovider.com, we are committed to providing the latest information for health care professionals. From provider policy changes and telehealth access to credentialing, coding and administrative policies, health care professionals can turn to this resource for support with patient care.

Members have access to their health plan account, where COVID-19 coverage details, resources and access to care are readily available. This personalized digital care platform provides up-to-date information about prevention, coverage, access to care and support that may be needed such as a 24/7 telehealth visit with their provider, talking to a nurse, refilling or scheduling home delivery for prescriptions, and accessing emotional support care 24 hours a day.

We also introduced a COVID-19 symptom checker that can help members review their symptoms quickly from the convenience of their own homes and then guide them to the appropriate next steps for care if they need it. In addition, an online tool is available to help members find a COVID-19 testing location in their area, if their health care provider determines testing is appropriate. 

We’re also helping by:

• Supporting members in home isolation through a navigation support program.
• Offering support for high-risk Medicare and Medicaid members with a home-based management platform.
• Offering access to early prescription refills, as needed, through June 15, 2020.
• Offering access to Sanvello, an on-demand emotional support mobile app. Access to this service is free through June 30, 2020.¹
• Providing access to emotional support through our helpline, a free service from Optum, our sister company. This service is open to anyone and can be reached 24 hours a day, seven days a week at 866-342-6892

Offered a special enrollment period for members with fully insured employer-sponsored plans.

We are actively engaging with those we serve to help them feel more informed and supported. Emails, phone calls, webcasts and videos are helping to get timely information about access to care and coverage into the hands of people who may need it most.

UnitedHealthcare is easing certain contractual requirements for its fully-insured and self-funded customers and offering a one-time special enrollment period opportunity. This opportunity allows employees who did not opt in for coverage during the regular enrollment period to now enroll and get certain coverage. This one-time special enrollment period was open from March 23, 2020 until April 13, 2020.

We have allowed grace periods for employers and individuals to pay premiums to help support access to care. 

On April 7, 2020, UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of UnitedHealthcare,  announced steps to accelerate nearly $2 billion in payments and other financial support to providers. This includes accelerated claim payments to medical and behavioral care providers in UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Individual and Group Market fully insured health plans. Learn more about this announcement.

Our telehealth coding guide gives examples of how we might reimburse telehealth services for dates of service from March 18, 2020 until June 18, 2020. This includes telehealth sessions, virtual check-ins and electronic visits (e-visits).

We’re temporarily updating our credentialing policies to implement provisional credentialing from March 19, 2020 until June 18, 2020 for out-of-network care providers who are licensed independent practitioners and want to participate in our networks.

To streamline operations for providers, we have suspended certain prior authorization requirements for COVID-19 diagnostic radiology, post-acute care, member transfers to a new provider and site of service review for many surgical codes. Visit our COVID-19 prior authorization page for effective dates and specific details.

Claims with a date of service on or after January 1, 2020 will not be denied for failure to meet timely filing deadlines if submitted by June 30, 2020. This applies to Medicare Advantage, Medicaid, and Individual and Group Market health plan claims.

If you need help with patient discharge planning to lower levels of care settings during the national public health emergency period, such as to a skilled nursing facility (SNF), please email COVID-19dischargeplanning@uhc.com and one of our team members will be in touch with you.