Senior members of United Healthcare got to learn a lot of new information about their membership at a new enrollment event at Restoration Plaza in Bedford-Stuyvesant on May 24. Dozens of seniors showed up to participate in the free event, and hear about the options available to them because many are underutilizing the services that can be useful to them, said a representative for the company.
“We want to make sure that they’re aware of benefits because we know that with the changes in health insurance industry, a lot of people have questions and they don’t know what they benefits they have,” said Alnando Nieves, manager for community relations. “We want to make sure we do a deep dive of all of our members and those around them as well, and explain to them what benefits they have.”
Guests were given a walk-through on the benefits that come with their membership such as the free-membership at one of 10 gyms throughout the city, additional funds for vision wear, and transportation coverage to doctor appointments and other United Heatlhcare events, said Nieves.
“There are a lot for rewards out there — we pay for transportation if people want to go to the doctor or any of our events,” he said. “All they have to do is call us three days in advance and we’ll pay for their taxi for48 one-way or 24 two-way trips.”
As part of the enrollment, services like screening, fitness, and transportation are offered for free but members are not taking advantage of them because they do not know about the availability, said Nieves.
“We teach everything. All the ins and outs of our membership,” he said. “A lot of our members don’t know about this and the best part is they can have up to 10 different gym memberships,” he said.
At the event, participants also got some fitness in with a free zumba class. The session was an example of the insurance company dedicating to the various needs of its members and modifying it to their abilities, said Nieves.
“We did low impact zumba and low impact chair exercises — so they’re sitting and moving in their seats, but what’s important is getting their blood flow moving,” he said. “All of those things help the seniors and they stay happy and energetic. Our goal at end of day is to educate our members and keep them healthy, and we’re happy to make sure we take good care of them.”
United Healthcare hosts various membership events in all five boroughs in the city every fourth week of every month, and also encourages members to visit them because they get the opportunity to learn about the services, according to Nieves.
“We don’t want to just enroll people — we want to give them a service when they come to us,” he said. “Yes we can give them insurance but at the same time, we give them a great quality of life, pamper them, and let them go home happy.”
