Where You Can Go for Care
As a member of UHC, your options and cost for care vary based on where you go and also where your doctor refers you to go.
- Virtual Visits: download the app for Dr. on Demand, TeleDoc or Amwell, enter your insurance information when you set up your profile. You can use Virtual Visits for medical and behavioral health care.
- Network Doctors: Doctors that take UnitedHealthcare insurance are considered “network” providers.
- Preferred Hospitals: Preferred Hospitals are not a separate network. They are a select group of hospitals (such as Cook Children’s, UTSW and all Texas Health hospitals) within the UnitedHealthcare Choice network. When you use Preferred Hospitals, you will receive the highest level of benefit coverage and pay the lowest out-of-pocket costs (for example – your cost will be 10% of the total cost after the deductible). To see a list of Preferred Hospitals, click here.
- Network Hospitals: Any hospital that takes UnitedHealthcare insurance is considered a UnitedHealthcare Choice Hospital. Your cost is higher when you go to a Network Hospital that is not considered a Preferred Hospital (for example – your cost will be 50-70% of the total cost after the deductible).
- Out-of-Network: Doctors and facilities that are not participating in the UnitedHealthcare network are considered “out-of-network”. Only the UnitedHealthcare Choice 1500 Plus plan option covers out-of-network providers or hospitals and you will pay more if you use them.
VERY IMPORTANT TIPS
- Procedures: When your doctor refers you for a procedure (such as an x-ray, outpatient surgery, or a test of some kind like an MRI), you can save dollars by checking with UHC before your appointment to see how the place the doctor recommended is covered by your medical plan and how the plan will pay for the procedure.
- Lab Work: Did your doctor tell you that you need to get lab work done? Your covered network labs are LabCorp and Quest Labs. To find a list of doctors and facilities in network, go to http://welcometouhc.com/thr. Under “I want to…”, select “Find a network doctor or hospital”. You can also call UnitedHealthcare at 1-877-698-4754 and select option 2.
- Check your hospital bill: When you go to a hospital for a procedure (such as surgery or childbirth), you may receive services that you weren’t aware you received from hospital-based physicians. For example, if you have an MRI, you typically will not meet the radiologist who interprets the results. For most patients with insurance, charges are often considered out-of-network for services provided by radiologists, anesthesiologists, pathologists and emergency physicians. Under all our medical plan options, when you use an in-network hospital, Texas Health saves you money by covering hospital-based physician services as in-network. Because most plans do not offer this same advantage, these claims are often processed incorrectly. When you receive your explanation of benefits from your medical carrier, you should carefully check your hospital charges to be sure you are not being charged out-of-network rates for these services. If you believe your bill is inaccurate, call UHC and ask for a review of the claim.