UnitedHealthcare boosting accountable care after early success

UnitedHealthcare, the largest private health insurer in the U.S., is upping its presence in accountable care.

The Minnetonka, Minn., company is now paying out $36 billion a year to providers as part of value-based contracts, nearly triple the total from three years ago. That number will rise 20 percent this year to $43 billion and reach $65 billion by 2018, UnitedHealthcare reported.

United currently has contracts with more than 520 accountable care organizations (ACOs), covering 11 million individual, employer-sponsored, Medicare and Medicaid enrollees. The insurer will add as many as 250 more ACO contracts in 2015, according to a company statement.

Providers in these networks are paid based on adherence with quality measures, patient outcomes and efforts to reduce the cost of care.

United said that its value-based plans have boosted primary care visits—associated with preventive care and better management of chronic diseases—among Medicaid participants by 21 percent, while 30-day readmissions have fallen by 14 percent among this population. Commercial members in ACOs have seen an 11 percent decrease in hospital admissions and 8 percent fewer admissions through emergency departments.

“UnitedHealthcare is building more collaborative relationships with more care providers to ensure our plan participants have access to higher-quality, cost-effective care,” Dan Rosenthal, president of UnitedHealthcare Networks, said in the statement. “Working with care providers to ensure they have the right support and incentives will help connect the people we serve to the most effective care, place a greater focus on the quality of their care and compensate providers for improving patients’ health.”