UnitedHealthcare Expands Medicare Advantage Bundled Payment Program
Providers in more than 30 states can now participate in UnitedHealthcare’s bundled payment program for Medicare Advantage patients.
Source: Thinkstock
By Jessica Kent
- UnitedHealthcare is expanding its Medicare Advantage bundled payment program, offering providers in more than 30 states the opportunity to participate in these models for their patients enrolled in MA plans.
Bundled payments offer patients high-quality, coordinated care at lower costs by setting price standards for procedures and follow-up treatments, and rewarding providers for exceeding these standards.
UnitedHealthcare will provide partnering providers with scalable services and support, including care management solutions to ensure patients receive quality care from pre-operative education to post-acute care. These solutions will include patient identification and risk stratification, care plan creation, medication review, and site of care optimization.
The program will also offer patient engagement tools, such as secure messaging and mobile apps, as well as performance analytics, consulting, and payment administration services.
“Our extensive data and technology experience positions UnitedHealthcare to collaborate with care providers to support better health and better care at a lower cost,” said Jeff Meyerhofer, president of bundled payment solutions, UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement.
In 2020, UnitedHealthcare will offer their value-based model to providers participating in Medicare Advantage plans. The model will include four cardiac bundles, one spinal bundle, and five orthopedic bundles.
This initiative builds on UnitedHealthcare’s work with CMS’s Bundled Payments for Care Improvement Advanced (BCPI Advanced) program for fee-for-service Medicare.
In 2017, the payer adopted a bundled payment model specifically for hip, spine, and knee surgeries, called the Spine and Joint Solution.
Additionally, the organization recently announced that it would support a Medicare bundled payment program by offering data and analytics services to participating providers.
“UnitedHealth Group’s extensive experience using data and technology to help coordinate care and improve health outcomes positions the company as a strong partner for care providers participating in bundled payment programs,” UnitedHealthcare said at the time.
“This form of value-based care is a benefit both for the people needing treatment and the care providers delivering it, and UnitedHealth Group is committed to finding even more ways to expand its use.”
The program will also advance UnitedHealthcare’s commitment to value-based care. UnitedHealthcare expects to have $75 billion in care provider reimbursements tied to value-based arrangements annually by the end of 2020. More than three million people currently enrolled in UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans are treated by providers in value-based models.
With the expansion of its bundled payment program, UnitedHealthcare expects to deliver quality, comprehensive, and affordable care to its members.
“We are making it easier for care providers by managing both the fee-for-service and Medicare Advantage models, taking on the administrative burden and tailoring our services to their individual needs, so they can focus on caring for their patients,” said Meyerhofer.
