UnitedHealth Enhances Health Benefit Card

Nearly 20 million people already have unique magnetic strip ID cards in their wallets. That card, which was first introduced by UnitedHealth Group three years ago to replace traditional paper ID cards, can verify eligibility and copay amounts with a simple swipe of the card. UnitedHealth Group, through its Exante Financial Services business, is now enhancing its card technology by combining both health care and financial information on a single card in order to support more informed health care consumers.

"By combining health and financial information, we have greatly simplified a series of fragmented and time-consuming experiences for health care consumers," said John M. Prince, CEO of Exante Financial Services. "People are being asked to exercise much more control over how they spend their health care dollars, so it is imperative that we give them the necessary tools to do that in a simple and efficient way."

Eligibility

The integrated card will feature enhanced eligibility verification over the original ID card, providing real-time confirmation of a patient's benefits coverage via the UnitedHealthcareOnline(R) provider portal with a single swipe of the card through a standard card reader. The enhanced eligibility verification will include more extensive benefit plan information than previously available when swiped, thus helping to speed the submission and processing of claims.

"Multi-Purse" Debit Card

Today, even advanced types of benefit ID cards typically contain only health benefit information. Consumers who have a health financial account must carry a separate debit card to access it. Exante's new integrated card will combine these two capacities into one card, while also expanding account access to multiple health accounts, known as a "multi-purse" capability. Combining these onto a single card will not only improve ease of use, but will also enable consumer access for the first time to multiple health accounts (i.e. Health Savings Account, Flexible Spending Account) using the same card. This feature will enhance the patient's ability to pay at point of service in the doctor's office or other care facility.

As UnitedHealth Group prepares to launch a real-time claims adjudication capability, which will enable care providers to process a claim and immediately determine the amount owed by the patient, the ability to pay from any eligible health account at the point of service will become critical. This card will respond to that emerging need.

Portable Personal Health Record

In addition to multiple account access, UnitedHealth Group's new cards will also provide access to an individual's Personal Health Record, making critical health information highly portable. This will allow patients to provide their physicians with secure access to an online medical history summary (currently available via the myuhc.com(R) website). A swipe of the card will give a physician access to the Personal Health Record. That Personal Health Record uses claims data and other data elements to automatically compile a comprehensive summary of medical conditions, medication history, significant medical interventions and laboratory results. In addition, it can be augmented by patients who choose to provide details such as allergies, immunizations and family history.

Line of Credit

Consumers will also soon be able to apply for a line of credit attached to their existing health account debit card to cover eligible health care expenses when funds are not available. This is a common concern for individuals with Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) who may incur medical expenses early in the year, in part because HSAs are funded incrementally over the course of the year. The line of credit will help bridge those early expenses while providing an affordable alternative to putting those charges on a standard personal credit card account.

While many elements of the new card are currently being utilized by UnitedHealth Group-affiliated customers through their existing health benefit cards today, the new fully-integrated card will be made broadly available by UnitedHealth Group beginning in the first quarter 2007.