United Healthcare did not really leave the ACA Exchanges but created a new unit, Harken Health to work with them. They could not compete in the “fee for service” model, so created a new model Harken Health, which will be working with the “fee per patient” model which is now expanding the concept rapidly, all because of the Affordable Care Act!
I was disappointed when they left, but now that I understand why they left, it is much easier to understand. I am ecstatic that they decided to create their new business model, to work specifically with the ACA! It will make it more difficult for Rethugs to crow about all the companies leaving the exchanges. Hopefully, others will take United Health’s lead and work on a better way, to work with the ACA.
Recently United Health (NYSE:UNH) announced it would be leaving most of the Obamacare exchanges set up to sell individual health policies under the Affordable Care Act.
United Health became a giant under the old fee-for-services model, selling policies in car-load lots to large employers. It is, as it was before the ACA was passed, the dominant presence in the health insurance market.
The ACA is helping bring down the cost of health care, when healthcare companies begin to merge, to eliminate overhead. It also helps, when they work together, to come up with new ideas to make healthcare easier, more cost effective and with better outcomes for many more people, while eliminating much of the waste.
United has been a leader in applying technology to its business, and spent the last decade buying health IT start-ups, which eventually became Optum Health, but it spent the ACA debate as an implacable foe of the reform, and for several years, thought it could sell its standard policies into the exchanges as a better value. It couldn't. Harken Health - and a political temper tantrum - was the response.
I have a United Health Medicare Advantage Plan, called Dual Complete, which works with Medicare & Medicaid. I also have been getting my prescriptions through their mail order service OptumRx, where I am able to get a 3-month supply, of each drug, for 1 copay, per drug, saving me the 2 additional copays.
The idea is that instead of waiting for customers to get sick and then funding cures, insurers should keep people from getting sick or keep those with chronic conditions from getting sicker and pocket the savings.
This is the purpose of the Affordable Care Act. Several of the large Managed Care Companies are benefiting from the ACA, not only making more profits, but their stock prices are going up, making them look even better, to investors.
Harken Health Thank you for letting me know the links were not working! I redid them, so they should be working now.