UnitedHealthcare Health Insurance Review 2022 – Forbes Advisor - Forbes

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare is the largest health insurance company in the U.S. based on market share by direct written premiums. It offers health benefit programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.

The company partners with more than 1.3 million medical providers and 6,500 hospitals and other care facilities across the country. UnitedHealthcare has more than 125,000 employees.

UnitedHealthcare offers health maintenance organization and exclusive provider organization plans on the health insurance marketplace. It offers insurance coverage directly to individuals and families in 18 states and employer-sponsored health insurance plans throughout the country.

UnitedHealth Group Inc. is based in Minnetonka, Minnesota.

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Types of Health Insurance Offered by UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare offers individual health insurance plans on the marketplace in 18 states:

• Alabama
• Arizona
• Colorado
• Florida
• Georgia
• Illinois
• Louisiana
• Maryland
• Massachusetts
• Michigan
• Nevada
• New York
• North Carolina
• Oklahoma
• Tennessee
• Texas
• Virginia
• Washington

UnitedHealthcare also offers many other types of health insurance coverage, including plans for:

• Employer-based coverage
• Medicare
• Medicaid
• Short-term health insurance
• Supplemental insurance (including vision insurance, dental insurance, critical illness insurance and many other types of plans)

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Types of Plans Available from UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare offers two types of plans on the health insurance marketplace:

• HMO: Patients with a health maintenance organization (HMO) plan typically only are covered for care from providers within the plan's network. In most cases, you need a referral to see a specialist.
• EPO: Patients with an exclusive provider organization (EPO) plan are only covered if they use physicians, specialists or hospitals within the plan's network. You typically do not need a referral to see a specialist.

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Extra Benefits from UnitedHealthcare

Some UnitedHealthcare plans offer additional benefits. The type of benefits you can access will depend on your specific plan, but may include:

• $0 primary care physician visits and copays
• Unlimited virtual visits
• Low-cost prescriptions ($3 at Walgreens)
• Digital fitness class subscription
• Adult vision and dental
• Health savings account eligibility
• Gift cards when you see your primary care physician
• Prescription drug delivery

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Best UnitedHealthcare Health Insurance Plans

The National Committee for Quality Assurance (NCQA) grades health insurance plans on the quality of care, member satisfaction and health plans' improvement efforts. NCQA grades health insurance plans up to five stars.

UnitedHealthcare's average across the plans we analyzed was 3.7 out of 5. It has 11 health insurance plans with at least four stars, including three that received 4.5 stars.

Top UnitedHealthcare health insurance plans based on NCQA grades

Location	Plans	Plan type	Members enrolled	NCQA rating of plan
Rhode Island	Choice Plus, Nexus ACO, UnitedHealthcare Navigate SM	POS/PPO combined	67,900
Minnesota	Choice EPO, Core, Core Essential, PPO with Differential, PPO without Differential, Choice Plus	POS/PPO combined	317,979
Iowa	Choice Plus, Select Plus POS, UnitedHealthcare Navigate Plus SM, PPO with differential, PPO without differential, Select EPO, UnitedHealthcare Navigate Balanced SM, UnitedHealthcare Navigate SM, Choice	POS/PPO Combined	215,549
Massachusetts	Choice Plus, PPO with differential, PPO without differential, UnitedHealthcare Navigate SM, Choice	POS/PPO Combined	142,403
New Hampshire	Choice Plus, PPO without differential, UnitedHealthcare Navigate SM, Choice	POS/PPO Combined	28,901
Wisconsin	Choice Plus, Select Plus POS, UnitedHealthcare Navigate Plus SM, PPO with differential, PPO without differential, Select EPO, UnitedHealthcare Navigate Balanced SM, UnitedHealthcare Navigate SM, Choice	POS/PPO Combined	528,417
District of Columbia	UnitedHealthcare Community Plan (NY)	POS/PPO Combined	34,769
Nebraska	Choice Plus, Select Plus POS, UnitedHealthcare Navigate Plus SM, Choice, PPO with differential, PPO without differential, Select EPO, United Healthcare Navigate Balanced SM, United Healthcare Navigate SM	POS/PPO Combined	166,622
North Dakota	Core, PPO with Differential, PPO without Differential, Choice Plus	POS/PPO Combined	22,441
South Dakota	Choice EPO, Core, Core Essential, PPO with Differential, PPO without Differential, Choice Plus	POS/PPO Combined	19,890
Wisconsin	Select, Choice, Choice Plus, Select Plus	HMO/POS Combined	42,892
Source: National Committee for Quality Assurance

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Health Insurance Complaints Against UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare has a lower level of consumer complaints about health insurance made to state regulators than many other companies, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.

UnitedHealthcare's subsidiaries have an average 1.04 complaint ratio, which means overall it gets only slightly more complaints than the industry average, which is 1.00. (Ratios lower than 1.00 are better.) Despite being about average, its complaint level is much lower than many of its top competitors.

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How Much Do UnitedHealthcare Health Insurance Plans Cost?

The average cost of a UnitedHealthcare health insurance plan on the ACA marketplace generally increases as you age. The average monthly cost for a 30-year-old is $403, a 40-year-old pays $454 on average and a 50-year-old spends $634 on average.

Many different factors determine the cost of a health insurance plan, including the type of plan, the metal tier, your age, how many people are covered and where you live.

Here are the average monthly premiums for unsubsidized UnitedHealthcare plans on the ACA marketplace.

Average costs for UnitedHealthcare Bronze plan

Health insurance plan member	Average monthly cost for an HMO plan	Average monthly cost for an EPO plan	Average monthly cost for a Bronze plan from UnitedHealthcare
Child age 0-14	$213	$253	$223
Child age 18	$254	$288	$263
Adult Individual age 21	$279	$349	$296
Adult Individual age 27	$292	$366	$310
Adult Individual age 30	$316	$396	$336
Adult Individual age 40	$356	$446	$379
Adult Individual age 50	$498	$624	$529
Adult Individual age 60	$756	$948	$804
Couple age 21	$557	$699	$593
Couple age 30	$632	$793	$672
Couple age 40	$712	$893	$757
Couple age 50	$995	$1,248	$1,058
Couple age 60	$1,512	$1,896	$1,608
Couple+1 child, age 21	$770	$951	$815
Couple+1 child, age 30	$846	$1,045	$895
Couple+1 child, age 40	$925	$1,145	$980
Couple+1 child, age 50	$1,208	$1,500	$1,281
Couple+2 children, age 21	$983	$1,204	$1,038
Couple+2 children, age 30	$1,059	$1,298	$1,118
Couple+2 children, age 40	$1,138	$1,398	$1,203
Couple+2 children, age 50	$1,421	$1,753	$1,504
Couple+3 or more children, age 21	$1,197	$1,456	$1,261
Couple+3 or more children, age 30	$1,272	$1,550	$1,341
Couple+3 or more children, age 40	$1,351	$1,650	$1,426
Couple+3 or more children, age 50	$1,634	$2,005	$1,727
Individual+1 child, age 21	$492	$602	$519
Individual+1 child, age 30	$529	$649	$559
Individual+1 child, age 40	$569	$624	$602
Individual+1 child, age 50	$711	$780	$752
Individual+2 children, age 21	$705	$773	$742
Individual+2 children, age 30	$742	$815	$782
Individual+2 children, age 40	$782	$951	$825
Individual+2 children, age 50	$924	$1,129	$975
Individual+3 or more children, age 21	$918	$1,107	$965
Individual+3 or more children, age 30	$956	$1,154	$1,005
Individual+3 or more children, age 40	$995	$1,204	$1,048
Individual+3 or more children, age 50	$1,137	$1,381	$1,198
Source: Healthcare.gov. Based on unsubsidized ACA plans.

Average costs for UnitedHealthcare Silver plan

Health insurance plan member	Average monthly cost for an HMO plan	Average monthly cost for an EPO plan	Average monthly cost for a Silver plan from UnitedHealthcare
Child age 0-14	$273	$347	$291
Child age 18	$325	$395	$343
Adult Individual age 21	$356	$481	$388
Adult Individual age 27	$374	$504	$406
Adult Individual age 30	$405	$546	$440
Adult Individual age 40	$456	$615	$495
Adult Individual age 50	$637	$859	$692
Adult Individual age 60	$967	$1,306	$1,052
Couple age 21	$713	$962	$775
Couple age 30	$809	$1,092	$880
Couple age 40	$911	$1,230	$991
Couple age 50	$1,273	$1,719	$1,385
Couple age 60	$1,935	$2,612	$2,104
Couple+1 child, age 21	$986	$1,310	$1,067
Couple+1 child, age 30	$1,082	$1,439	$1,171
Couple+1 child, age 40	$1,184	$1,577	$1,316
Couple+1 child, age 50	$1,546	$2,066	$1,676
Couple+2 children, age 21	$1,258	$1,525	$1,358
Couple+2 children, age 30	$1,355	$1,787	$1,463
Couple+2 children, age 40	$1,456	$1,924	$1,573
Couple+2 children, age 50	$1,819	$2,413	$1,967
Couple+3 or more children, age 21	$1,531	$2,004	$1,649
Couple+3 or more children, Age 30	$1,627	$2,134	$1,754
Couple+3 or more children, Age 40	$1,729	$2,272	$1,865
Couple+3 or more children, Age 50	$2,091	$2,761	$2,259
Individual+1 child, age 21	$629	$828	$679
Individual+1 child, age 30	$677	$893	$731
Individual+1 child, age 40	$728	$962	$787
Individual+1 child, age 50	$909	$1,207	$984
Individual+2 children, age 21	$902	$1,176	$970
Individual+2 children, age 30	$950	$1,241	$1,023
Individual+2 children, age 40	$1,011	$1,309	$1,078
Individual+2 children, age 50	$1,182	$1,554	$1,275
Individual+3 or more children, age 21	$1,175	$1,523	$1,262
Individual+3 or more children, age 30	$1,223	$1,588	$1,314
Individual+3 or more children, age 40	$1,274	$1,657	$1,369
Individual+3 or more children, age 50	$1,455	$1,901	$1,566
Source: Healthcare.gov. Based on unsubsidized ACA plans.