MINNETONKA, Minn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UnitedHealthcare’s mobile app Health4Me™ now offers several new features including a secure electronic bill-payment service that enables UnitedHealthcare plan participants to pay their medical bills and manage their health care claims and related expenses all from their smartphone.
The mobile bill-payment service is available to more than 13 million UnitedHealthcare plan participants nationwide; anyone can access a guest version of Health4Me to identify local health care providers and comparison shop for health care based on quality and cost.
Health4Me is designed to help all consumers conveniently make more informed decisions regarding their care. New Health4Me features for UnitedHealthcare plan participants include:
- enabling consumers to pay their medical bills with their credit card, debit card, health savings account or bank account;
- helping consumers manage and understand their claims, and monitor medical expenses for tax reporting;
- tracking their physical activity, including wirelessly connecting to a Fitbit device; and
- streaming content from UHC.TV, an internet TV channel with health and wellness information.
UnitedHealthcare is the only national health plan to offer participants payment capabilities that are integrated with claims and benefits information. Such services will become increasingly important as consumers continue paying a larger percentage of their medical bills, according to a report from the American Medical Association.
“Health4Me is a valuable resource that helps me better understand my health benefits and improve my overall well-being,” said Kristina Barbuto, a Health4Me user in Oak Ridge, Tenn. “The navigation is easy and streamlined, making it simple for me to learn more about my treatment options and costs.”
The latest enhancements build on the success of Health4Me, which is available to all consumers on iPhone® and Android® devices and has been downloaded more than 1 million times. The app enables anyone to locate nearby health care providers, and convenience care, urgent care and emergency care facilities, as well as review market average prices for more than 755 medical services across 500 episodes of care, providing a comprehensive view of what consumers should expect throughout their course of treatment. For UnitedHealthcare plan participants, the estimates are based on actual contracted rates with care providers and take into account an individual’s real-time account balances, when applicable.
“Health4Me helps consumers conveniently and easily manage their health care finances, and make more informed choices, while at home or on the go,” said Yasmine Winkler, UnitedHealthcare’s chief marketing & product officer. “By enabling consumers to more easily monitor, manage and understand their health care expenses any time and any place, we are helping people take charge of their health and make more informed decisions regarding their care.”
The payment feature, designed in collaboration with InstaMed, a health care payments network company, has previously been available online via UnitedHealthcare’s plan participant portal, www.myuhc.com. The mobile and online service, known as myClaims Manager, enables people to manage their claims and pay medical bills electronically by entering their credit card, debit card or bank account information, adding convenience for consumers while helping health care providers get paid faster and easier.
Health4Me and myClaims Manager are available to UnitedHealthcare employer customers of all sizes and their employees. Payments can be made to anyone in UnitedHealthcare’s entire network of physicians and other care providers, and providers can register to receive the payments electronically.
UnitedHealthcare broadly supports the use of information technologies to lower costs and simplify payment processes. In 2014, the company processed and electronically transmitted $85 billion in medical payments to physicians and other care providers.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare
is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by
simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and
wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care
providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit
programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees
and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid
beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 850,000 physicians
and care professionals, and 6,000 hospitals and other care facilities
nationwide. Globally, UnitedHealthcare serves 45 million people in
health benefits and is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group
(NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For
more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com
or follow @myUHC on Twitter.
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