Understanding premium payments
An insurance premium is the monthly price you pay for your policy. The cost of your insurance may depend on the type of plan you have, your age, your lifestyle and more. If you have a health plan from the Marketplace, or a UnitedHealthcare Medicare Advantage, Medicare Supplement or Medicare prescription drug plan, you’ll likely pay a monthly premium.
UnitedHealthcare will send you a bill each month with the amount you owe. If your insurance is through an employer, your premiums will likely be taken out of your paychecks. Here are 4 ways to pay your premium.
Understanding claims payments
A claim is a request made by you or your provider to your insurance company to cover the cost of your care. In most cases, when you go to a network provider, you will not need to submit a claim for your care.
After your claim is processed, you’ll receive an explanation of benefits (EOB) from UnitedHealthcare. An EOB is not a bill. Your EOB is simply a summary that helps you understand the costs for your recent health care visits.
Based on your processed claim, you will see a “You may owe” amount in the UHC app or member site that is based on the claim information and your benefits.
How to pay a bill for a medical claim online
You can choose to pay your provider directly, or — if your plan allows it — you can pay in the UHC app or on your member site. Please ensure that you pay the amount you owe only in 1 of these 2 ways. Paying on your member site helps keep your payment tracked, and the balance you may owe, up to date.
Frequently asked questions about claims payments
Your payment will be sent to your provider within a few days of your transaction. Most payments are received by providers within 7 business days.
Then, your provider has up to 30 days to review, accept and apply your payment. During this time, you may still get bills from your provider.
You can always check the status of your payment in the UHC app or your member site. Your status may show that it is processing, sent, accepted or refunded.
It’s normal to get more than one bill from your provider for the same visit. Different parts of your care may be billed separately. These bills are different from your EOB, which comes from your health plan and explains how your benefits were applied.
Provider bills may list separate items, but you may see one combined balance on your member account. You may want to wait to pay any bills until you receive your EOB. This will help you confirm that all insurance payments are applied correctly.
There are times when your health plan doesn’t have up-to-date billing information for a provider. As a result, they aren't able to submit payment to them on your behalf. In those cases, the Pay now feature will be unavailable in the UHC app and on your member site.
Additionally, an Adult Dependent on your plan needs to add you as an “Authorized Payer.” In those cases, you may see a message that says online processing isn’t available.
If your provider doesn’t accept the payment within the required time frame or if their billing address is out of date, the payment gets refunded to the original payment.
If you receive a refund, you are still required to pay. You will need to work with your provider to understand how to complete this payment.
Questions about UnitedHealthcare billing?
For questions about UnitedHealthcare bill pay, you can use the UHC app or sign in to your member account to chat directly with customer service. You can also call the number on your member ID card.
Remember, when you're paying your bills, you can always reach out for help if you're unsure or need guidance. We're here to answer your questions.