Health care access tops the list of challenges that most people face, according to Steve Cain, CEO of UnitedHealthcare California.
“California is at a tipping point,” says Cain. “We had a perfect storm of a global pandemic coinciding with higher costs and fewer health professionals going into primary care. All these factors affect a patient’s ability to access care.”
merging from the largest public health crisis in over 100 years, healthcare in the 21st Century is poised to make a big leap forward, both in technological innovation and in the
way that patients access care. UnitedHealthcare, the largest health care payer in the United States, is at the forefront of advancement, facing today’s challenges with effective and efficient solutions that position patients at the center of care.
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For Cain, like many health care experts, access to primary care providers (PCPs) is the gold standard of great care. Research shows that access to PCPs is associated with more positive health outcomes. PCPs offer relational care, featuring early detection and treatment of disease, chronic disease management, and preventive care. The shortage of PCPs in California means longer wait times, which is especially damaging in a marketplace where on-demand options in all walks of life are becoming the norm. On-demand care is increasingly becoming the model for the future, especially as young adults accustomed to individual solutions age into the health payer system.
Cain notes how Carbon Health’s hybrid model – which pairs 120+ brick and mortar clinics with 24/7 on-demand virtual care through its easy-to-navigate app – provides a level of access significantly greater than historical models. Most Carbon Health patients can see their PCP in-person within 48 hours. Urgent Care is even quicker. And virtual visits where a clinical provider assesses, diagnoses, and prescribes solutions for a patient can happen anytime a member requires it.
The relationship between UHC and Carbon Health is different from multiple perspectives, including how the relationship began: a chance meeting between Cain and Carbon Health Co-Founder, Caesar Djavaherian.
Our goal is to help our members live healthier lives. We hope that providers like Carbon can help them achieve their desired health outcomes. When you enter the Carbon ecosystem, it's going to be a great
experience for you.
Subheading style here
“We were touring a hospital together and we got to chatting,” recalls Cain. “At the time, (Carbon Health) was doing a new, really cool approach to Urgent Care where the entire experience was all digital. He invited me down to tour a facility and we hit it off.”
From there, a year of meetings and lunches followed, with one question persistently arising between the pair: what can we do together to improve access to care? This meeting of the minds produced a bilateral collaboration where both payer and provider share the risk, an agreement in healthcare known as an Accountable Care Organization (ACO). Accountable Care Organizations are groups of doctors, hospitals, and other health care providers who come together voluntarily to give coordinated high-quality care to the patients they serve.
“It’s a way for both UnitedHealthcare and Carbon to have skin in the game,” Cain explains. “It’s about building a relationship where both sides are incentivized to provide employer groups and individual members the best care at an optimal cost level. It’s about coming together and asking how we can have a greater impact on the mental and physical health of all Californians.”
The budding relationship is already blossoming, with the ability of all UHC PPO members receiving a distinct health care experience at Carbon Health. As a tech-based healthcare company, Carbon Health has integrated patient data in ways that make it accessible to patients and clinicians across its platform. The result is highly informed, care that’s simple to get. Just ask Cain, who himself is a patient at Carbon.
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How the Collaboration between UnitedHealthcare and Carbon Health Is Increasing Access
in California
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Facts to consider
is the degree to which social determinants impact one's health.
of Americans want to continue to use virtual healthcare for non-urgent needs.
80%
90%
of Americans are intermittent workers, meaning they are not employed in traditional full-time roles.
59M
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Steve Cain, CEO California,
UnitedHealthcare
“When a UnitedHealthcare member walks into Carbon Health, you immediately feel comfortable,” says Cain. First, Cain downloaded the Carbon Health app, where he easily made his first appointment. The patient UX is intuitive and straight-forward. Through the app, patients can not only make in-person appointments — they can also access their health charts, speak with a member of their health team, and even refill prescriptions.
At the clinic, Cain was impressed by its modern vibe and friendly, patient-centered service.
“From start to finish, it was a really robust experience. When I walked in the door, they knew exactly who I was. And then the actual experience itself being with the clinician, it felt like I was their number one priority; they really took their time. They were able to do labs and an X-ray right in the same room. I didn't have to go somewhere else for any lab work, it was all done right there.”
Cain relates how his follow-up went smoothly, too. “Immediately, the Carbon team followed up with me and relayed the next steps: here's the results, we'd like to see you again, if you don't want to make it in, that's cool. We'll just set up a virtual visit and go through what we saw and next steps. It felt easy and connected.”
Multi-faceted challenges require an integrated approach. Thus, UnitedHealthcare (UHC) has collaborations with many providers to help solve the access challenges facing healthcare. One such collaboration, with California-based healthcare provider Carbon Health, is uniquely poised to address issues of access while increasing efficiency in healthcare and providing the kind of data-driven on-demand care that Californians want.
“Carbon Health exemplifies the kind of omnichannel approach that UnitedHealthcare sees as the future of health care,” says Cain.
is the cost of workplace illness and injury to employers per year.
$225B
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Cain’s experience is the best-case scenario and an example of the future of health care, where care is agile and easily accessible no matter who you are, a place where tech and the personal touch are equally important.
“Health care is not one size fits all,” says Cain. “We want individual choice within an employer group model that provides great value-based care. It’s a model that not only provides smart, efficient health care, it’s a model that cares about each and every patient it serves.”
Carbon Health is part of UHC’s broad PPO Network, which provides brokers, consultants, and employer groups an exceptional amount of choice. No matter what PPO plan design you choose, Carbon Health is in network.
“Our goal,” says Cain, “is to help our members live healthier lives. We hope that providers like Carbon can help them achieve their desired health outcomes. When you enter the Carbon ecosystem, it's going to be a great experience for you.”
Carbon Health is part of the UnitedHealthcare PPO network. Contact your UnitedHealthcare representative or visit uhc.com/carbonhealth to learn more.
Health plan coverage provided by or through UnitedHealthcare Insurance Company, UHC of California and UnitedHealthcare Benefits Plan of California. Administrative services provided by United Healthcare Services, Inc., OptumRx or OptumHealth Care Solutions, Inc. Behavioral health products are provided by U.S. Behavioral Health Plan, California (USBHPC).
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