UnitedHealthcare is betting big on its Surest unit as the insurer releases new data on where the plan has seen success in the past several years.
The plans first launched as Bind in 2016 and rebranded under the name Surest in 2022. The plan design nixes deductibles and offers pricing details upfront to members before they receive a treatment, with the goal of improving affordability.
Surest is available in 37 states to fully insured employers with at least 51 employees and nationwide for self-funded plans with 51 or more workers. Analysts at Aon compared data on people enrolled in Surest in 2021 and 2022 to a control group and found that Surest drove claims cost savings higher than $400 per member per year.
The study found improvements to both spending and utilization across all age groups, multiple years and various conditions, UnitedHealthcare said.
"We're continuing to be that kind of tip of the innovation spear when I look within benefits at UnitedHealthcare, and looking for even different ways to start enhancing more affordable benefit designs in the future," said Alison Richards, CEO of Surest, in an interview with Fierce Healthcare.
Richards noted that it's not a secret that the healthcare system is complex and often difficult for members to navigate, and there are many people who do not understand how their benefits, deductibles or copayments work. By eliminating deductibles and offering more clear information in a readily accessible way, Surest aims to ease some of those challenges.
She said that members expect a digital experience that mirrors other industries, like retail. If a person is shopping for new furniture, for example, it's relatively easy to shop around local stores and find the best deal or the product that best fits their needs. In healthcare, however, meeting that expectation is far less common.
Richards used her own family as an example. She said her two college-age children are enrolled in Surest, and as they have the plan's app on their phones they're able to find physicians that meet their needs and schedule appointments easily through the app.
"That's what's really exciting to me is moving that engagement needle in the healthcare system and giving consumers the choice of where to go, how much it costs and when to make that happen," she said.
The Aon study found costs for Surest members were 12% lower for migraine treatments, 11% lower for mental health and 10% lower for anxiety. Costs were also 8% lower for back pain and 7% lower for diabetes, with all of these data points representing high-cost areas for employers.
The report also found that the reductions in spending did not come at the cost of restricted utilization. Telehealth use was 30% higher among the Surest membership, according to the study, and spending on mental health physician services was 7% lower without reducing utilization.
Spending on emergency care was reduced by 10% and spending on outpatient surgeries by 12%, according to the report.
As the plan continues to draw interest, Richards said she sees opportunities in the future to continue making its benefit offerings more personalized. For instance, if a member needs outpatient surgery, the plan could provide upfront copayment data across the entire episode of care.
The team is also thinking about rewards and other incentives, she said.
"What I see in Surest health plan, is that it's the next evolution of health benefits, and how we are really taking a different look to deliver value to employers and employees," Richards said.