UniCare, a health benefits company supporting the health needs of state and municipal employees, retirees, and their families insured by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission, is changing its name to Wellpoint this spring. UniCare’s plans will officially use the Wellpoint name starting July 1, 2024, and while benefits and services for members will remain the same, the objective of this rebranding effort is to emphasize the health plan’s goal of focusing on members’ overall health proactively.
“Over 80% of what happens to us, that impacts our health, happens outside of the hospital, outside of the doctor’s office,” said David Morales, the General Manager of Wellpoint.
UniCare’s shift in focus toward a holistic health care model recognizes the fact that the vast majority of what impacts one’s health arises from a combination of physical, mental, emotional, and social factors. The name change to Wellpoint, says Morales, is to educate about the brand and emphasize its commitment to proactive health care with the new motto: “Your whole health is our whole point.”
“We have been investing the past three years in social, emotional, and mental health supports and digital tools to enable our members to live healthier lifestyles,” Morales said. “So, we want to keep our members healthy, we want to keep them out of the hospitals, we want them talking to their primary care physician, we want them engaging with our digital tools, so they can improve their overall health. There’s a second part to this, it’s good for the members and it’s good for health care costs. The healthier we enable you to be, the greater the health care cost savings, which improves health care affordability for everyone.”
One of the ways Wellpoint is encouraging members to live healthier lifestyles is with its Sydney Health mobile app, which allows members to access services such as nutrition and workout trackers, view their benefits and claims, and speak directly with the Wellpoint team.
“Through Sydney Health you can chat with us to get real-time answers to your health or benefits questions, or access virtual care services on your own time,” Morales said.
For more on the Sydney Health app go here.
As part of the organization’s whole health model, Wellpoint has contracted with providers to expand access to in-person and virtual behavioral health services. This is in addition to member benefits which include not requiring members to obtain referrals for specialists.
“Our name change doesn’t change any member benefits; we are an indemnity plan so that means that members can go anywhere and we will cover them,” said Morales. “You travel to Germany, we’ll cover you, you get sick in Aruba on vacation, we got you, but the point of our name change is to educate our members about their whole health first.”
Morales said Wellpoint is going to continue expanding its provider network so members have access to preventative services such as primary care physicians, social workers, dietitians, and nutritionists. He said that the goal is to shift from what he calls a “sick care” model of reimbursement, which reimburses health care providers when a member is sick, to a model where providers are paid to keep members healthy.
“For fifty-plus years we have been reimbursing hospitals when you are sick, well, we want to continue to move away from that fee-for-service model,” said Morales. “It’s better to pay hospitals and physicians to keep us healthy; it’s better for our members and it also lowers costs overtime.”
What is Wellpoint (formerly UniCare)?
For almost four decades, Wellpoint has exclusively served the Massachusetts Group Insurance Commission, supporting the health needs of state and municipal employees, retirees, and their families who receive health coverage through the GIC. Our dedicated indemnity model, the only one offered through the GIC, gives members the freedom to access care without referrals. Under our new Wellpoint name, we will continue to serve GIC members exclusively.