More proactive benefit payouts possible with Benefit Assist
Employees may not know they’re eligible to receive benefits from their short-term disability or supplemental health plan. Benefit Assist® helps close the gaps.
A recent survey found that 57% of Americans currently live paycheck to paycheck.1 So when an employee experiences a major or unexpected health event that results in a leave of absence from work, the lost wages associated with the leave in addition to the resulting medical bills can lead to significant financial stress.
One of the ways employers can help ease this financial strain is to offer short-term disability benefits and supplemental health benefits such as Accident, Critical Illness or Hospital Indemnity.
90%
of supplemental health claims payouts were initiated by Benefit Assist technology in 20242
These benefit plans provide employees additional coverage for qualifying health events such heart attacks, strokes, giving birth or hospitalizations. And if those benefits are administered by UnitedHealthcare along with a UnitedHealthcare medical plan, UnitedHealthcare Benefit Assist takes that support a step further.
Utilizing a combination of proprietary technology and benefit advocates, Benefit Assist identifies eligible claims to proactively identify eligible short-term disability or supplemental health claims and will automatically pay a member their benefit. Or, when that’s not possible, prompts an advocate to inform the employee about their potential benefit and help them submit the claim.
How does Benefit Assist Work?
For employees who have a qualifying UnitedHealthcare medical plan and eligible short-term disability or eligible supplemental health plan:
- Benefit Assist® for Maternity Leave sends short-term disability maternity leave payments up to 30 days prior to expected delivery date — allowing families to focus on preparing to welcome their new addition, rather than on the paperwork involved with submitting claims.
- With Benefit Assist® for Supplemental Health, the majority of time, employees qualifying for eligible supplemental claims don’t have to take any action. A benefit check will be sent directly to them. These benefits can be used however the member would like including paying for out-of-pocket medical costs and other everyday expenses like groceries, rent and transportation.
In addition to getting employees paid faster, Benefit Assist has also been found to increase employees’ utilization of the benefits that are available to them, driving a:2
- 51% increase in Critical Illness claims — including for cancer, heart attacks and strokes
- 96% increase in Accident Protection claims — including for burns, fractures and eye injuries
- 102% increase in Hospital Indemnity claims — including for labor/delivery, trauma and ICU stays
With our Benefit Assist technology, employers can understand that their employees aren’t missing out on potential benefits payout, with the goal for employees to experience a simpler, more streamlined and efficient benefit process that allows them to focus on recovery and their eventual return to work.
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