About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare is one of the world’s largest health insurance companies. It offers health benefit programs for individuals, employers and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries.
The company partners with more than 1.7 million medical providers and 7,000 hospitals and other care facilities across the country.
UnitedHealthcare offers health maintenance organization and exclusive provider organization plans on the health insurance marketplace at HealthCare.gov. The marketplace is a place to find coverage for those who don’t have access to a health plan through work. UnitedHealthcare offers ACA insurance coverage directly to individuals and families in 30 states and employer-sponsored health insurance plans throughout the country.
Types of Health Insurance Offered by UnitedHealthcare
Besides Affordable Care Act (ACA) plans, UnitedHealthcare offers many other types of health insurance coverage, including plans for:
- Accident insurance
- Critical illness insurance
- Dental insurance
- Group health insurance through employers
- Short-term health insurance
- Student health plans
- Medicaid
- Medicare
- Vision insurance
UnitedHealthcare Health Insurance Plans
UnitedHealthcare offers two types of plans on the health insurance marketplace at HealthCare.gov:
- 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.
The company offers three metal tiers on the ACA marketplace:
- Bronze
- Silver
- Gold
Insurers can offer bronze, silver, gold and platinum but not many companies offer platinum plans. Bronze plans have the lowest premiums but the highest deductibles and out-of-pocket costs. Of the UnitedHealthcare’s metal tier offerings, gold plans have the highest premiums but the lowest out-of-pocket costs.
If you’re deciding between the three tiers, you may prefer a bronze plan if you don’t need much healthcare. If you regularly see doctors and need multiple expensive prescriptions, a gold plan may work well. If your healthcare usage is somewhere in between those two extremes, a silver plan may be best for you.
Where Is UnitedHealthcare Health Insurance Available on the ACA Marketplace?
States with UnitedHealthcare ACA Marketplace Plans
Member 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:
How Much Do UnitedHealthcare Health Insurance Plans Cost?
UnitedHealthcare health insurance plans cost $602 monthly on average for an ACA marketplace plan.
Age is a cost factor for ACA plans. Other factors include metal tier, type of plan, whether you smoke and where you live. If you’re looking to save on health insurance, choosing a bronze plan may be your best bet if you don’t expect much health care over the next year. Those plans have the lowest premiums but the highest deductibles and out-of-pocket costs when you need care.
Average UnitedHealthcare Health Insurance Cost by Age
| Age of member | Average monthly costs for a UHC plan |
|---|---|
| Age 21 | $455 |
| Age 27 | $477 |
| Age 30 | $517 |
| Age 40 | $582 |
| Age 50 | $813 |
| Age 60 | $1,235 |
Average Costs for UnitedHealthcare by Metal Plan
| Age of member | Average monthly cost for a UHC bronze plan | Average monthly cost for a UHC silver plan | Average monthly cost for a UHC gold plan |
|---|---|---|---|
| Age 21 | $370 | $489 | $500 |
| Age 27 | $388 | $513 | $524 |
| Age 30 | $420 | $555 | $568 |
| Age 40 | $473 | $625 | $640 |
| Age 50 | $660 | $874 | $894 |
| Age 60 | $1,004 | $1,328 | $1,358 |
How UnitedHealthcare Costs Compare to Other Companies
UnitedHealthcare average costs are slightly more than some major competitors. Many factors go into health insurance costs, so it’s wise to check health insurance quotes from multiple companies to compare premiums, out-of-pocket costs and benefits.
Average Monthly Costs for ACA Marketplace Plan by Company
| Age of member | UnitedHealthcare | Aetna | Blue Cross Blue Shield | Kaiser Permanente |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Age 21 | $455 | $486 | $479 | $386 |
| Age 27 | $477 | $512 | $503 | $405 |
| Age 30 | $517 | $553 | $544 | $439 |
| Age 40 | $582 | $622 | $613 | $494 |
| Age 50 | $813 | $870 | $856 | $690 |
| Age 60 | $1,235 | $1,321 | $1,301 | $1,049 |
HMOs: Average Monthly Health Insurance Costs
| Company | Age 21 | Age 27 | Age 30 | Age 40 | Age 50 | Age 60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UnitedHealthcare | $435 | $456 | $493 | $556 | $776 | $1,180 |
| $473 | $499 | $539 | $606 | $847 | $1,285 | |
| $392 | $410 | $445 | $501 | $700 | $1,063 | |
| $398 | $418 | $452 | $509 | $712 | $1,081 | |
| $529 | $555 | $601 | $676 | $945 | $1,436 | |
| $397 | $416 | $451 | $507 | $709 | $1,078 | |
| Molina Healthcare | $398 | $422 | $456 | $512 | $716 | $1,085 |
| $407 | $427 | $462 | $520 | $727 | $1,105 |
EPOs: Average Monthly Health Insurance Costs
| Company | Age 21 | Age 27 | Age 30 | Age 40 | Age 50 | Age 60 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| UnitedHealthcare | $475 | $498 | $540 | $608 | $849 | $1,290 |
| $515 | $539 | $584 | $658 | $919 | $1,396 | |
| $410 | $430 | $465 | $524 | $732 | $1,113 | |
| $476 | $502 | $543 | $610 | $853 | $1,295 | |
| $411 | $431 | $467 | $526 | $735 | $1,116 | |
| $381 | $399 | $432 | $487 | $681 | $1,034 | |
| $412 | $431 | $467 | $526 | $735 | $1,117 |
Featured Health Insurance Partners
1
Aetna
Offers plans in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
About 1.2 million
$20
2
Blue Cross Blue Shield
Offers plans in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
About 1.7 million
$10
3
Cigna
Offers plans in all 50 states and Washington, D.C.
About 1.5 million
$0
UnitedHealthcare Reviews and Complaints
Complaints filed with state insurance departments against UnitedHealthcare for individual and family health insurance are much higher than the industry average. That may signify member dissatisfaction.
The biggest complaint about UnitedHealthcare is claim handling, especially denials of claims, according to the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
Other ratings for UnitedHealthcare include:
- Average National Committee for Quality Assurance: 3.6 out of 5 stars
- AM Best financial strength: A+ (Superior)
UnitedHealthcare received the second best average NCQA marks among the companies we analyzed (tied with Blue Cross Blue Shield and behind only Kaiser Permanente).
AM Best affirmed UnitedHealthcare’s A+ (Superior) financial strength rating. It highlighted the company’s “balance sheet strength” and also noted its “very strong operating performance, very favorable business profile and very strong enterprise risk management.”
Methodology
We analyzed 96 data points about coverage and quality to identify the best health insurance companies. Our ratings are based on:
- Average premiums (30% of score): We took the average Affordable Care Act health insurance marketplace rates for the following ages: 21, 27, 30, 40, 50 and 60, and then came up with an overall average. Source: HealthCare.gov.
- Complaints made to state insurance departments (20% of score): We used complaint data from the National Association of Insurance Commissioners.
- Average silver plan deductible (20% of score): The deductible is how much you have to pay for healthcare in a year before the health plan begins picking up a portion of the costs. Companies with health plans that had low deductibles got more points. Source: HealthCare.gov.
- Breadth of health plans (10% of score): Health insurance companies may offer up to four types of plan benefit designs (PPO, HMO, EPO and POS). We gave companies that offered more types of plans more points. Source: HealthCare.gov.
- Metal tier offerings (10% of score): The ACA marketplace has four metal tier levels. We gave points to companies that offered more tier plan options. Source: HealthCare.gov.
- Digital experience (10% of score): We analyzed the quality of each company’s mobile app and website. We evaluated health insurers on: the company’s mobile app; if in-network providers are easy to find online; the company’s website’s search functionality; whether the company has a Spanish site; if the site includes informative wellness and self-help information; whether you can manage your account online; if information about ACA plans are easy to find; whether you can pay online; and if the website makes it easy for users to find definitions for health insurance terms Source: Forbes Advisor research.
Read more: How Forbes Advisor Rates Health Insurance Companies
