UnitedHealthcare Announces Winners of Third Annual TIP Challenge

  • Pharmacies recognized for efforts to help people enrolled in
    UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage plans use their medications at
    the right time and dose
  • Company donates $90,000 to American Diabetes Association on behalf
    of winners

MINNETONKA, Minn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–UnitedHealthcare announced the winners of the third annual
UnitedHealthcare Targeted Intervention Program (TIP®)
Challenge.

The TIP® Challenge encourages friendly competition among
pharmacies as their pharmacists work with UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare
Advantage-Part D plan members to help them take their prescription
medications appropriately. Each year UnitedHealthcare recognizes the
pharmacies that have been most successful at improving medication
adherence rates for its members, thereby helping to enhance their health
and well-being.

The winning pharmacies in the 2015 TIP Challenge are:

  • Large Retail Pharmacy Chain Category (900+ locations): The
    Kroger Co. and Target
  • Medium Retail Pharmacy Chain Category (200-899 locations): Giant
    Eagle and Meijer
  • Regional Retail Pharmacy Category (<200 locations):
    Community Health Centers, Inc. and Wegmans Food Markets INC.

New for 2015, UnitedHealthcare donated $15,000 to the American Diabetes
Association (ADA) on behalf of each winning pharmacy, for a total
donation of $90,000. The company selected the ADA to receive this year’s
TIP Challenge donation in recognition of the significant number of
Medicare-eligible individuals with diabetes and the unique challenges
they encounter as they work to manage their condition, including
contending with sometimes complex medication regimens.

Approximately 25 percent of the people enrolled in UnitedHealthcare’s
Medicare Advantage plans have been diagnosed with diabetes. For many
people with diabetes, the care plan required to manage their condition
can be difficult and cumbersome to follow. As a result, more than
two-thirds of the gaps in care for UnitedHealthcare’s Medicare Advantage
members are linked to diabetic members.

A gap in care exists when an individual hasn’t received a health care
service or medication recommended based on his or her health status. For
people with diabetes, this could include an annual eye exam, for
example, or treatment with insulin to manage their blood glucose levels.

The 2015 UnitedHealthcare TIP Challenge winners helped to close these
gaps in care by markedly improving medication adherence among a group of
UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage-Part D plan members. The challenge
focused on medications used for the treatment of diabetes, high blood
pressure and high cholesterol, as well as medications deemed high risk
for seniors.

UnitedHealthcare identified members who were at risk for medication
non-adherence or who were using high-risk medications. It then notified
the participating pharmacies of those customers who could benefit from
pharmacists’ medication therapy management services. For example,
customers with a pattern of not filling prescriptions or picking up
refills were flagged for the participating pharmacies.

Pharmacists then worked with these customers through one-on-one
consultations to help address their individual barriers to medication
adherence, such as cost of their medications, memory issues that cause
them to forget to take their medications, or confusion related to the
complexity of their medication regimens. In some cases, pharmacists
educated customers about the option of receiving a 90-day supply of
their medications, which can be especially beneficial for people who
have difficulty getting to the pharmacy on a regular basis.

When appropriate, pharmacists also informed their customers’ physicians
of opportunities to consider evidence-based therapy protocols that could
benefit the customer. For example, pharmacists consulted with physicians
when customers were using medications classified as high risk for
treatment of seniors to determine if a new prescription for a safer
alternative medication would be appropriate.

“We are grateful for the generous support from UnitedHealthcare,” said
Kevin L. Hagan, CEO of the American Diabetes Association. “Pharmacists
are a critical part of the health care team for people with diabetes,
helping them stay on track with medications that help them manage their
condition and maintain their quality of life. Initiatives like
UnitedHealthcare’s TIP Challenge are an innovative and practical way to
encourage medication adherence for older adults with diabetes.”

According to the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America,
nearly 75 percent of adults do not take their medications as prescribed,
which limits the drugs’ effectiveness, increases the risk of poor health
outcomes and raises the overall cost of care.1 Medication
non-adherence is an especially significant issue among seniors, given
that approximately 90 percent of adults over 60 take at least one
prescription medication, and more than a third take five or more
prescription drugs.2

“The retail pharmacies we work with have shown an ongoing commitment to
our TIP Challenge, and we’ve seen it make a meaningful difference in our
members’ medication adherence rates,” said Steve Nelson, CEO of
UnitedHealthcare Medicare & Retirement. “We applaud the winning
pharmacies and are honored to recognize their contributions to helping
our members live healthier lives.”

Serving nearly one in five Medicare beneficiaries, UnitedHealthcare
Medicare & Retirement is the largest business dedicated to meeting the
health and well-being needs of seniors and other Medicare beneficiaries.

About UnitedHealthcare
UnitedHealthcare
is dedicated to helping people nationwide live healthier lives by
simplifying the health care experience, meeting consumer health and
wellness needs, and sustaining trusted relationships with care
providers. The company offers the full spectrum of health benefit
programs for individuals, employers, military service members, retirees
and their families, and Medicare and Medicaid beneficiaries, and
contracts directly with 1 million physicians and care professionals, and
6,000 hospitals and other care facilities nationwide. UnitedHealthcare
is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a
diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company. For more
information, visit UnitedHealthcare at www.uhc.com
or follow @myUHC on Twitter.

1 Improving Prescription Medicine Adherence is Key to Better
Health Care, PhRMA, January 2011
http://phrma.org/sites/default/files/pdf/PhRMA_Improving%20Medication%20Adherence_Issue%20Brief.pdf
2
Prescription Drug Use Continues to Increase: U.S. Prescription Drug Data
for 2007-2008, National Center for Health Statistics, U.S. Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db42.htm
All
other statistics in this release can be attributed to UnitedHealthcare
Internal Data, 2015.

IR_160205_074030

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Contacts

UnitedHealthcare
Sarah Bearce, 952-406-5615
Sarah_Bearce@uhc.com

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