UnitedHealthcare will offer telehealth with no out-of-pocket cost

UnitedHealthcare is now offering telehealth appointments with no co-pay or out-of-pocket cost as a benefit.

The move is intended to improve access to care, said Dr. Donna O'Shea, chief medical officer of population health for UnitedHealthcare. Sometimes members in high-deductible plans delay medical appointments to avoid out-of-pocket costs.

"Members were pushing off simple health care visits," O'Shea said.

UnitedHealthcare estimates, based on its claims data, that 25% of emergency room visits could be handled virtually. The telehealth visits are available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

"We want our members to know that they don't have to wait to get an appointment," O'Shea said.

Optum Virtual Care is one of main providers of the telehealth services. Minnetonka-based UnitedHealth Group is the parent of both health insurer UnitedHealthcare and Optum.

The new benefit takes effect with the renewal of a heath plan or for newly effective plans. More than 250,000 UnitedHealthcare members can now use the benefit.

The onset of the pandemic saw a sharp uptick in the use of telehealth. A survey from the American Medical Association found that 80% of physicians used telehealth visits in 2022, nearly triple the rate in 2019.

So far this year, 15% of all ambulatory clinic visits for Minneapolis-based Allina Health have been virtual, said Tim Burke, an Allina spokesman. Mental health is the busiest category for telehealth; 65% of those appointments are virtual.

Allina offers On-Demand Virtual Urgent Care. The use of that service is up 15% year-over-year and is accessed by 40 to 60 patients daily.

O'Shea said virtual appointments can help lower the risk for developing more serious medical conditions.