A new study and research that included patients from WellMed, USMD and Optum revealed people enrolled in a Medicare Advantage (MA) health plan had significantly fewer hospital stays and emergency room visits compared to those enrolled in traditional fee-for-service (FFS) Medicare.

This finding was published in December 2022 by the American Medical Association’s JAMA network Open, which studied claims data from more than 316,000 older adults across Arizona, California, Florida, Nevada, Texas and Utah. The data studied included WellMed, USMD and Optum Florida patients in Texas and Florida.

The impressive results stand as a testament to the model of care WellMed has practiced for more than 30 years, one that is being advanced by care delivery organizations across Optum Health.

At WellMed, USMD (Opens in new window), Optum Florida (Opens in new window) and Healthcare Associates of Texas (Opens in new window), clinicians have the unique opportunity to provide their MA patients with comprehensive services extending beyond typical preventive care. Through this value-based care model, clinicians can effectively merge the richer health benefits of MA plans and proven strategies to ensure optimal patient outcomes while assuming full financial and clinical responsibility for each patient.

The study revealed patients enrolled in MA plans have a host of better outcomes versus patients enrolled in traditional Medicare, including:

• 44% less likely to be admitted to the hospital for COPD or asthma
• 11% less likely to have an emergency department (ED) visit
• 18% less likely to have an inpatient hospital admission
• 10% less likely for an admission for stroke or myocardial infarction
• 14% less likely to have an avoidable ED visit
• 9% less likely to be re-admitted to the hospital within 30 days
• 6% less likely to have a return ED visit within 30 days

WellMed, USMD, Optum Florida and Healthcare Associates of Texas currently serve more than 1 million patients enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans in Texas, Florida and Southwest New Mexico.

Read the full study (Opens in new window).

Read the UnitedHealth Group newsroom article (Opens in new window).

Learn more about our business model and entities (Opens in new window).