UnitedHealthcare's PlanBien(SM) Combines Health Plan Coverage with Bilingual Support Services for Businesses with Spanish-Speaking Employees in Florida

UnitedHealthcare is launching an innovative health benefits program called PlanBienSM that combines health benefit plans with unique services designed to help enhance the health and well-being of Spanish-speaking Hispanics and their families and dependents.

PlanBien transcends traditional health plans with a host of linguistically and culturally relevant health-information and customer-service programs tailored to meet the unique health care needs of Hispanics. These include: a bilingual provider directory that lists physician offices with Spanish-speaking doctors and/or staff; Spanish-speaking customer service representatives to answer questions and help plan participants locate Spanish-speaking doctors; specialized educational materials printed in Spanish including ¿Que le dijo el doctor? (What did the doctor tell you?) – bilingual photo stories depicting how a family discusses common health concerns; and much more.

PlanBien is available now to small and medium-sized businesses, labor organizations and public-sector entities in select markets in South Florida, featuring a portfolio of Neighborhood Health Partnership products.

“In developing PlanBien, we enhanced UnitedHealthcare’s quality and cost-effective health benefit plans with innovative support services that help address two growing areas of concern: the need to reduce the rate of the uninsured among the Hispanic population; and the effort to help Hispanics – many of whom communicate more comfortably in Spanish – better understand their health plan and become more engaged in their health care. We believe PlanBien can make a positive impact on both fronts,” said Russell Bennett, UnitedHealthcare’s vice president of Latino Health Solutions at UnitedHealthcare, a UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH) company.

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, Hispanics comprise America’s fastest-growing work force, which is projected to grow 34 percent nationwide by 2014. Also, data published by the Yankelovich Hispanic Monitor indicate that the majority of Hispanics prefer to receive health care information in Spanish.

“Employers and organizations are increasingly aware that their employees and members reflect a very diverse society and, as such, demand more than a ‘one-size-fits-all’ health plan,” said Bennett. “UnitedHealthcare’s PlanBien is tailor-made for businesses and organizations with Spanish-speaking employees who may speak English at work but prefer to speak Spanish at home or when dealing with complex or personal topics like their health or health care benefits.”

“We are happy to partner with a health plan that not only talks the talk when serving the Spanish-speaking market, but walks the walk in delivering products and services to Spanish-speaking consumers with specifically tailored cultural and local usage wording for all materials, Web site and customer service personnel. UnitedHealthcare’s PlanBien offers that and much more,” said José M. Berenguer, III, Esq., CEO of The Berenguer Group, a Miami-based insurance broker.

Spanish-speaking customers enrolled in PlanBien receive a bilingual handbook tailored to South Florida and the Neighborhood Health Partnership health plans featured in that region as part of the PlanBien portfolio. The handbook features a glossary of health and medical terms in Spanish, and answers to “frequently asked questions.” Customers also receive a bilingual provider directory, listing local multi-specialty medical groups or clinics that offer services in Spanish. A significant number of the medical groups and clinics featured in PlanBien listings are located in neighborhoods where many Hispanics live and work. Plan participants also have access to enhanced bilingual customer service and guidance from bilingual customer care professionals located in Miami.

More information about Latino Health Solutions, including additional bilingual resources such as wellness tools and health-related articles, are available at UnitedHealthcare’s bilingual (English/Spanish) Web site, www.uhclatino.com.

About UnitedHealthcare

UnitedHealthcare (www.unitedhealthcare.com) provides a full spectrum of consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services to individuals, public sector employers and businesses of all sizes, including more than half of the Fortune 100 companies. The company organizes access to quality, affordable health care services on behalf of more than 25 million individual consumers, contracting directly with more than 560,000 physicians and care professionals and 4,800 hospitals to offer them broad, convenient access to services nationwide. UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (NYSE: UNH), a diversified Fortune 50 health and well-being company.