UnitedHealthcare is expanding its efforts to support rural healthcare providers by removing most prior authorisation requirements for rural and critical access hospitals across all lines of business. The move aims to reduce administrative friction and allow providers to focus more on patient care, particularly in communities where resources are limited and financial pressures are high.
Alongside this, the insurer is accelerating payment timelines by up to 50% for roughly 1,500 rural hospitals nationwide. This builds on an earlier pilot programme that reduced Medicare Advantage reimbursement times from nearly 30 days to under 15 days, significantly improving cash flow for participating facilities. The initiative is now being expanded, with plans to include Medicaid and commercial payments by the end of 2026 and to roll out prior authorisation exemptions by the end of this year. The accelerated payments programme is also being extended to additional states, including Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia, following earlier pilots in states such as Oklahoma, Idaho, Minnesota and Missouri.
Beyond financial support, UnitedHealthcare is collaborating with health systems to implement a “hub-and-spoke” care model, linking local providers with regional centres of expertise. This approach will initially focus on areas like maternal health, diabetes management and post-surgical care, with the potential to expand into other services over time. The broader goal is to strengthen rural care delivery while ensuring patients can access more specialised support without leaving their communities.
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