UnitedHealthcare has a long history of supporting social determinants of health. It includes providing over 1 million referrals to critical social services and giving more than $500 million to assist individuals find affordable housing throughout the country. By addressing social determinants of health for individuals, it has introduced the use of predictive analytics to aid enhance well-being, decrease costs, and promote involvement in clinical intervention programs.
- New claims to identify: The new advocacy capability uses de-identified claims data from UnitedHealthcare members to proactively identify who is most likely to need support with social determinants of health, such as access to nutritious food or affordable housing. UnitedHealthcare call center advocates then use real-time interactions coupled with a curated database of community resources to help individuals dealing with challenging life events or circumstances.
- Social determinants: The new capability adds the use of predictive analytics to help efficiently identify people in need of support related to social determinants of health. The resource is currently available to employers that select UnitedHealthcare’s Advocate4Me Elite or Advocate4Me Premier product offerings, with plans to introduce a customized version for employers with fully insured health benefits later this year.
- Unique position: “UnitedHealthcare is in a unique position to help improve people’s health and well-being by addressing social determinants of health,” said Rebecca Madsen, chief consumer officer, UnitedHealthcare. “With COVID-19 highlighting the need to help close the gap between health care and access to services that contribute to well-being, UnitedHealthcare has incorporated social determinants of health into our advocacy service model, providing people with important support as they navigate the health system.”
- Assist people: The targeted support model is intended to engage and assist people by helping reduce or eliminate barriers to well-being, diminish out-of-pocket consumer costs, and avoid potential expenses for employers. Through this capability, UnitedHealthcare helps people to find access to nutritious meals, such as through local food banks.
- Enhanced Collaboration: Developed in collaboration with Optum, the UnitedHealthcare capability can help employers predict the likelihood that their employees may have a need for a social intervention, assessing more than 300 markets across the country and analyzing over 100 metrics. By combining this information with the employer’s aggregate claims data, employers can design and implement health care strategies that are more responsive to challenges their employees may face and proactively identify the need for support.