In keeping with UnitedHealth Group’s mission to help people live healthier lives and help make the health system work better for everyone, we have expanded resources to support our employees, including our front-line health care workforce, our members and the communities we serve.

Supporting and Connecting with Employees, Including Our Front-Line Healthcare Workforce

• Created a program for employees called UnitedCARES to support the mental, physical and emotional health needs of team members diagnosed with COVID-19.​
• Launched an employee e-newsletter to connect, support and inspire employees during the pandemic.
• Providing grant funding in countries where UnitedHealth Group operates, including Brazil and India, to support health care workers while also expanding access to care in underserved communities.
• Converted company cafeterias to provide more than 75,000 meals a week for people in need and keeping our cafe team at work.
• Created a daily employee video series hosted by UnitedHealth Group CEO, David Wichmann, to connect with employees, share updates from our chief medical officer, Dr. Richard Migliori, and updates from our clinical staff on the front lines.
• Partnered with Microsoft to launch ProtectWell™, a back to workplace protocol and app that provides employers a tool to safely return employees to work.

Supporting Patients and Members

• Provided over $1.5 billion to directly support customers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic in the form of credits and waived cost-sharing for health care.
• Opened a special enrollment period to allow employees of many customers (companies) who did not opt in for coverage during the regular enrollment period to secure coverage.
• Waived cost-sharing for COVID-19 testing and treatment for U.S. members of UnitedHealthcare plans and simplified access to care by reducing prior-authorization requirements.
• Significantly expanded access to telehealth and virtual visits and redeployed 5,000 Optum clinicians to expand telehealth capabilities.
• Conducted proactive personal outreach to seniors and the most vulnerable populations among members.
• Launched a free nationwide emotional support line to manage the stress and anxiety caused by COVID-19.

Supporting Communities We Serve

• Accelerated payments to providers throughout the crisis, with an initial tranche of nearly $2 billion.
• Assisted the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in processing and distributing a portion of the $100 billion CARES Act funding to care delivery providers.
• Invested nearly $75 million to help vulnerable populations including seniors, those experiencing hunder and homelessness, the health care workforce, and those in hard-hit states including California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Michigan, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Washington state.
• Provided a $5 million grant to the Mayo Clinic to continue research into the therapeutic potential of using convalescent plasma from COVID-19 survivors.
• Pioneered self-administered swab procedures to expand COVID-19 testing, reduce needed personal protective equipment and protect health care workers from unnecessary exposure to COVID-19.
• Partnered with the CDC Foundation, Direct Relief and the American Nurses Foundation to provide personal protective equipment and support for frontline health care workers.
• Contributed financial support to community-based organizations in the United States and globally to address food insecurity and homelessness.
• Deployed 3,000 “light ventilators” to address critical shortages in the nation’s supply of ventilators, in partnership with Boston Scientific, Medtronic and the University of Minnesota.
• Offered our new ProtectWell™ back to workplace protocol and app at no charge to employers and other organizations in the United States.

Please see more online in the UnitedHealth Group newsroom, here.