MINNETONKA, Minn. & DEERFIELD, Ill.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--UnitedHealthcare®, the health benefits business of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), and Walgreens will open 14 UnitedHealthcare Medicare services centers within Walgreens stores in five metropolitan areas as part of a multiyear agreement.
“We are expanding access to UnitedHealthcare Medicare resources to better serve our members, providing them with all the valuable benefits they have come to expect from their UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans plus delivering the customer service and information they desire locally within Walgreens,” said Mike Anderson, CEO of the Medicare Part D business at UnitedHealthcare.
The UnitedHealthcare Medicare services centers will begin to open in January 2020 at Walgreens stores in the Las Vegas, Phoenix, Cleveland, Denver and Memphis markets. Through these centers, Walgreens customers can learn more about Medicare, meet with service advocates to discuss their UnitedHealthcare plan benefits and even enroll in plans. UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage members can also make an appointment for an in-store annual wellness visit at the Medicare services center in Walgreens through UnitedHealthcare’s HouseCalls program, helping make it easier to get needed care, tests and treatment.
“Walgreens collaboration with UnitedHealthcare helps people navigate their healthcare options and provides convenient access to affordable care,” said Rick Gates, senior vice president, pharmacy and healthcare at Walgreens. “Through strategic partnerships like this, Walgreens store locations can offer comprehensive services tailored to the specific needs of the communities we serve that are conveniently accessible alongside our pharmacy services.”
AARP® Medicare Advantage Walgreens Plans
Together, the two companies are also collaborating on the new AARP® Medicare Advantage Walgreens plans from UnitedHealthcare to deliver lower prescription drug costs and convenient access to medications. Expanding upon UnitedHealthcare’s 2020 Medicare Advantage offerings, the new AARP® Medicare Advantage Walgreens plans with Medicare Part D prescription drug coverage will deliver lower prescription drug costs and convenient access to medications through Walgreens, the plan’s preferred retail pharmacy. Many of the plans will feature $0 premiums and $0 copays on primary care visits, preventive care and many common generic drugs, offering another way for plan members to save.
The new plans will feature benefits available through most UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage plans including a broad health care network, dental and vision coverage, and access to Renew Active, UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare fitness program for mind and body.
AARP® Medicare Advantage Walgreens plan members are not limited to using Walgreens and may continue to fill prescriptions at most retail pharmacies or through mail-order from OptumRx. At Walgreens, plan members will enjoy lower copays for drugs, access to additional in-store value, enhanced discounts through the Walgreens Balance Rewards program and simple-to-use digital tools through Walgreens. The 46 plans will be available across 24 states where 16.2 million people eligible for Medicare reside. Consumers can enroll during the Medicare Annual Enrollment from October 15 through December 7 when people eligible for Medicare can choose their coverage.
Serving more than 12 million Medicare beneficiaries, UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare plans offer programs that help people stay active, improve health and navigate complex care needs. The only company to offer Medicare plans with the AARP name, UnitedHealthcare serves one in five people in the Medicare program through its portfolio of plansi.
For more information on UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare plans, visit UHCMedicareHealthPlans.com.
About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is dedicated to helping people live healthier lives and making the health system work better for everyone by simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care providers. In the United States, UnitedHealthcare offers the full spectrum of health benefit programs for individuals, employers, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and contracts directly with more than 1.2 million physicians and care professionals, and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. The company also provides health benefits and delivers care to people through owned and operated health care facilities in South America. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified health care company. For more information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com or follow @UHC on Twitter.
About Walgreens
Walgreens (walgreens.com), one of the nation's largest drugstore chains, is included in the Retail Pharmacy USA Division of Walgreens Boots Alliance, Inc. (Nasdaq: WBA), a global leader in retail and wholesale pharmacy. Walgreens is proud to be a neighborhood health, beauty and retail destination supporting communities across the country, and was named to FORTUNE* magazine’s 2019 Companies that Change the World list. Approximately 8 million customers interact with Walgreens in stores and online each day. As of August 31, 2019, Walgreens operates 9,277 drugstores with a presence in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, along with its omnichannel business, Walgreens.com. Walgreens also provides specialty pharmacy and mail services and convenient access to in-store clinics and other health care services throughout the United States, most of which are operated by our health care strategic partners.
*© 2019, Fortune Media IP Limited. Used under license.
About AARP
AARP is the nation’s largest nonprofit, nonpartisan organization dedicated to empowering Americans 50 and older to choose how they live as they age. With nearly 38 million members and offices in every state, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands, AARP works to strengthen communities and advocate for what matters most to families with a focus on health security, financial stability and personal fulfillment. AARP also works for individuals in the marketplace by sparking new solutions and allowing carefully chosen, high-quality products and services to carry the AARP name. As a trusted source for news and information, AARP produces the nation's largest circulation publications, AARP The Magazine and AARP Bulletin. To learn more, visit www.aarp.org or follow @AARP and @AARPadvocates on social media.
Plans are insured through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company or one of its affiliated companies. For Medicare Advantage and Prescription Drug Plans: A Medicare Advantage organization with a Medicare contract and a Medicare-approved Part D sponsor. Enrollment in these plans depends on the plan’s contract renewal with Medicare. UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company pays royalty fees to AARP for the use of its intellectual property. These fees are used for the general purposes of AARP. You do not need to be an AARP member to enroll in a Medicare Advantage or Prescription Drug Plan. AARP and its affiliates are not insurers. AARP encourages you to consider your needs when selecting products and does not make specific product recommendations for individuals. United contracts directly with Walgreens for this plan; AARP and its affiliates are not parties to that contractual relationship. Other pharmacies/providers are available in our network.
Benefits and features vary by plan and may not be available in all plans/areas. Limitations and exclusions apply.
Members may use any pharmacy in the network but may not receive preferred retail pharmacy pricing.
AARP® Medicare Advantage Walgreens plans’ pharmacy network includes limited lower-cost pharmacies in rural ID, MO, OK, TX and suburban CA. The lower costs advertised in our plan materials for these pharmacies may not be available at the pharmacy you use. For up-to-date information about our network pharmacies, including whether there are any lower-cost preferred pharmacies in your area, please call us or consult the online pharmacy directory using the contact information that appears on the booklet cover.
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i CMS enrollment data, August 2019.
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