Tech platform Uno Health is rolling out a self-service guide that shows users financial savings they could be eligible to obtain.
The tool boasts of its ability to save the average user $4,500 a year after asking just a few questions. It is designed to improve accessibility and simplify the application process for everything ranging from federal and state health programs, heating bills, phone and internet services and the Supplemental Nutritional Assistance Program.
These programs and benefits can be difficult for individuals to sift through, potentially leaving hundreds, or thousands, of dollars on the table if they do not enroll. Uno Health CEO Anna de Paula Hanika, formerly at Clover Health and Google, says the tool is an encapsulation of the company’s broader offerings.
She said at least 50% of Medicare members are eligible for, but not enrolled in, other financial assistance programs. That figure increases to nearly 90% for Medicaid members. Unused benefits strain health programs and insurers.
“That underenrollment is due to really significant barriers around awareness [and] the complexity of getting enrolled, so it seemed like a good problem for technology to solve,” said Hanika.
Uno’s Savings Guide tracks state and federal requirements to help individual see if they are eligible for a program, all while guiding users to the correct documentation they will need to sign up. Uno uses machine learning to predict eligibility likelihood and its rules engine to sort rules by state for users.
The tool is currently offered in eight states in English and Spanish, with long-term ambitions to expand nationwide.
Since federal health programs are complicated and always changing, Hanika expects the tool will continue to be useful.
At Clover, she said the company’s comprehensive care plans for members with comorbidities were sometimes challenging because members didn’t have the money to afford basic necessities. Members signed up for SNAP and other programs to alleviate the financial burden, but that administrative burden fell to the clinical teams.
Uno Health partners with Medicare Advantage payers by creating personalized savings plans, similar to the company’s newly released program that is directly available to the public.