Don’t fall for health care related schemes

November 6, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

Scammers may try to trick you to share your private information. At this time of year when many people are re-enrolling in health care coverage, we see that scammers increase their activity, so Univera Healthcare has several tips to help you avoid...

Univera Healthcare earns accreditation from NCQA

November 2, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

Univera Healthcare once again earned accreditation across all of its health insurance products from the National Committee for Quality Assurance for 2024, earning four out of five stars. NCQA is a private, non-profit organization dedicated to improving...

Get ready for peak flu season: Get your flu vaccination

November 1, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

By Lorna Fitzpatrick, MD, vice president of medical affairs and senior medical director, Univera Healthcare It’s easy to take a casual approach to flu season when the weather is still nice. Fall in Western New York is a great time of year, when more...

Medicare recognizes Univera Healthcare for quality

October 10, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) announced its 2025 quality ratings, and again this year recognized Univera Healthcare for its Medicare Advantage plans. This is the 12th consecutive year the health plan has ranked above average or...

Unlocking the mystery of health insurance premiums

What’s driving the rising costs of health care, how this influences premiums, and what Univera Healthcare is doing, Right Here, For You, to help its members navigate and manage the costs of their care.

September 11, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

We understand that rising health care costs can create difficulties for you. Expensive prescription drugs, increases in outpatient procedures, and high-cost hospital care are challenging patients, doctors, businesses, health plans, and the entire...

One call helped Frank lower his drug costs

September 9, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

For Medicare member Frank Pecora, making a call to the health plan’s Customer Care team meant finding medications he could afford. The 75-year-old is one of thousands of members who call the Customer Care number on the back of their membership card...

Negotiated rates and the cost of care

September 9, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

What is a negotiated rate and why does it matter? When a provider is “in-network” this means they accept your insurance. A provider can be an individual doctor, a hospital or facility, or a larger health system. The amount your health insurance pays...

In-network vs. out-of-network care

September 6, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

When you go to a healthcare provider that is "out-of-network," it means they don’t accept your insurance. This usually means you'll have to pay more for the same services compared to using an "in-network" provider, who does accept your insurance. ...

Univera Healthcare and WellBe Senior Medical collaborate to bring in-home care to those in need

September 6, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

Univera Healthcare is teaming up with WellBe Senior Medical, an independent company, to help some of our Medicare Advantage members. This program will bring care right to the homes of members who need it the most. These members often have several health...

Applications being accepted for Health Equity Innovation Award funding

September 5, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

Univera Healthcare is accepting applications for its 2024 Health Equity Innovation Awards, which provide funding to community-based organizations to support health and wellness programs that address racial and ethnic health disparities in Western New...

Univera Healthcare partners with REACH Kidney Care to improve chronic kidney disease management

August 14, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

Univera Healthcare members with stage 4 or 5 chronic kidney disease (CKD) may be eligible for a new program, REACH Kidney Care, that helps improve their care and quality of life, while delaying the need for costly interventions such as dialysis or...

Univera Healthcare named to Best Place to Work for Disability Inclusion

July 16, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

For the second consecutive year, Univera Healthcare was named to the Best Places to Work for Disability Inclusion. Univera Healthcare received a top score of 100% on the 2024 Disability Equality Index®, a national benchmarking survey by Disability:IN...

Be safe outdoors - What you need to know about Lyme disease

July 10, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

Summer is a time to work in the garden, visit the dog park, or hit the bike path. It is also a time to be aware of tick-borne illnesses including Lyme disease, and ways to avoid them. Infected ticks can be found across the Northeast, including in...

Univera Healthcare appoints Senior Vice President and General Counsel

July 1, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

Megan Gomez, Esq. Univera Healthcare appointed Megan Gomez, Esq. to the position of Senior Vice President, General Counsel. She previously served as Vice President and Senior Deputy General Counsel. Gomez joined the company in 2007.  Gomez is...

Upstate NY health plans support legislation to defend Medicare Advantage plans for seniors

June 25, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

Upstate New York health plans are showing their support for recently introduced bipartisan legislation to protect benefits and access to care for hundreds of thousands of people enrolled in Medicare Advantage plans in upstate New York. Univera...

Supporting a century of compassion in East Buffalo

June 20, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

For over 100 years, St. Gerard’s Parish was the center of Buffalo’s Bailey Delavan neighborhood, where families could come together as a community. Although the final mass was held in 2008, the site’s century-long outreach to its surrounding East...

Statins: A powerful ally for people living with diabetes

June 4, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

If you are living with diabetes, you may already know you are at higher risk for cardiovascular disease including heart attack, heart failure, and stroke. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), people who have diabetes are...

The Lifetime Healthcare Companies, CDPHP announce planned affiliation

May 22, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

Two of New York’s leading not-for-profit health care companies are teaming up to improve the quality, experience, and affordability of care for residents across the state. The Lifetime Healthcare Companies, the parent company of Univera Healthcare and...

Skipping your meds is costly, possibly deadly

By Mona Chitre, Pharm.D.

May 13, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

Medication adherence is the fancy term for taking medications as directed. You might assume that patients always adhere to the instructions they’re given when it comes to their meds, but that’s not the case. According to the CDC, 20% to 30% of...

Osteoporosis: Make no bones about it, you may be at risk

April 30, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

Osteoporosis affects every gender, race, and ethnicity. If you are 65 years or older and you broke a bone that wasn’t the result of a fall, car accident, or other obvious trauma, there’s a good chance it was related to osteoporosis.  Osteoporosis...

Super healthy snacking tips for Sunday’s big game

February 6, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

Four quarters of big-game football can be grueling, especially for those watching at a house party with a big-time buffet just an arm’s length away. It’s important to approach kickoff with a solid game plan to assure that you make it to the post-game...

Avoid the silent killer

February 1, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

More than 120 million Americans have high blood pressure according to the CDC and 11 million of them don’t know it. If left untreated, high blood pressure increases the risk for heart disease, stroke, and other cardiovascular diseases. February is...

A dangerous trend: Skipping cervical cancer screening

January 19, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

A growing number of individuals who are eligible to be screened for cervical cancer are skipping this important test, and that decision could cost them their lives. Each year in the U.S., 11,500 individuals are diagnosed with cervical cancer, according...

Overuse of antibiotics has deadly results

January 7, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

Antibiotics are powerful tools used to treat patients with life-threatening infections, cancer, organ transplants, severe burns, and trauma, but they are being overprescribed and not being taken as directed, which is causing them to be less...

Don’t accept falling as part of aging

January 4, 2024 | Buffalo, NY

More than 1 in 4 older adults (28%) in the U.S. report falling each year, according to an Univera Healthcare’s review of the most recent data available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). That translates to about 36 million falls...

Mental health is top of mind at Houghton University

December 7, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

Houghton University recently received a 2023 Health Equity Innovation Award from Univera Healthcare to provide on-campus mental health and wellness activities for its students.  A small private Christian-centered, liberal arts university located...

Univera Healthcare earns 85 percent in Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-24 Corporate Equality Index

November 30, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

Univera Healthcare has received a score of 85 percent out of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index, the nation’s foremost benchmarking survey and report measuring corporate policies and practices related to...

Seasonal depression and the holiday blues

November 13, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

Some people love the cold weather months. For others, this time of year leaves them feeling sad, depressed or even lonely. Geoffrey Hopkins, MD, senior medical director of behavioral health at Univera Healthcare, answers some questions about the...

Learn your risk for taking a fall

November 10, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

A simple test can help identify individuals at risk for a fall. It’s called the Timed Up and Go test, or TUG test, and anyone can do it at home. “Falls are not a normal part of aging and can be prevented,” says Univera Healthcare Medical Director Kelly...

The right meds at the best value

November 7, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

A Univera Healthcare program is focusing on medication safety while saving millions of dollars in prescription drug costs. The program, Pharmacy Concierge, is available to most midsize and large employers through the health plan. “Improving care is the...

More than 60 summer 2024 internship positions will be available at Univera Healthcare

November 7, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

Starting now through November 22, Univera Healthcare is posting more than 60 internships for Summer 2024 for college students at its locations in upstate New York. Summer internship positions currently available include jobs in Actuarial,...

Health insurer awards hospitals $28 million for quality improvements

October 31, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

Thirty-one upstate New York hospitals and health centers earned a combined $28 million in quality improvement payments from the Rochester-based health insurer that includes Univera Healthcare in Western New York. The funds are part of the nonprofit...

Vaccines for COVID-19, flu, and RSV are available

What to know to be protected this fall and winter

October 20, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

This fall, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) recommends all Americans consult with their health care provider about receiving vaccines for COVID-19 and seasonal influenza (flu). In addition, an RSV vaccine may be recommended by...

Join the movement - Help grow the blood stem cell donor registry

Seventy percent of African Americans who need a blood or bone marrow donor won’t find a match.

October 18, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

Each year in the U.S., more than 18,000 people are diagnosed with life-threatening blood cancers or other blood disorders that could be cured or treated with a blood stem cell transplant, according to Be The Match/the National Marrow Donor Program. For...

Univera Healthcare appoints Simone E. Edwards, DrPH, MPH as VP Health Equity and Community Investments

October 2, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

Univera Healthcare announces the appointment of Simone E. Edwards, DrPH, MPH, as vice president health equity and community investments, reinforcing the health plan’s unwavering commitment to a more equitable and inclusive health care landscape for...

Univera Healthcare Medicaid HMO among the nation’s best-rated

September 21, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

Univera Healthcare is one of just 13 health plans nationwide to earn 4.5 stars (out of a possible five) and accreditation for its Medicaid HMO from the National Committee for Quality Assurance. NCQA is a private, nonprofit organization dedicated to...

Univera Healthcare members have new options to a top-selling drug

September 6, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

Univera Healthcare members living with autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn’s disease, and plaque psoriasis, and who use HUMIRA® to address pain and inflammation, now have additional treatment options covered by the insurer; the...

Nonprofits can now apply for Univera Healthcare Health Equity Innovation Award funding

August 14, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

Univera Healthcare is once again inviting nonprofit organizations to apply for 2023 Health Equity Innovation Award (HEIA) funding. The awards help fund health and wellness programs that address racial and ethnic health disparities in upstate New York....

Univera Healthcare’s Vice-President of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion receives leadership award

July 13, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

Sady Alvarado-Fischer, vice-president of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion at Univera Healthcare, has been selected as a “Healthcare Diversity Leader”by the National Diversity Council. She will be formally recognized for her leadership excellence at the...

Addressing uncomfortable topics with your health care provider

June 6, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

Health insurers regularly conduct surveys of their Medicare members to learn about their relationship with their health care providers and the conversations they have (or don’t have) about topics that aren’t always easy to discuss. Problems with memory,...

Addressing uncomfortable topics with your health care provider

June 1, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

Health insurers regularly conduct surveys of their Medicare members to learn about their relationship with their health care providers and the conversations they have (or don’t have) about topics that aren’t always easy to discuss. Problems with memory,...

ConnectLife receives Health Equity Award from Univera Healthcare

January 27, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

A health equity award from Univera Healthcare will help ConnectLife create a new Minority Donation and Transplant Stakeholders Council to provide input to ConnectLife leadership and staff regarding cultural competency issues relating to organ, eye, and...

Charting your course to wellness in 2023

January 23, 2023 | Buffalo, NY

The new year is a great time to focus on overall wellness and take steps to improve in all areas of life. “Each day presents a new opportunity to practice self-care,” says Dr. Geoffrey Hopkins, Univera Healthcare senior medical director for behavioral...

Napierala Named VP of Medicare and Individual Market Sales

August 8, 2022 | Buffalo, NY

Andrew Napierala has been hired as Vice President of Medicare and Individual Market Sales for the Rochester-based health insurer that includes Univera Healthcare.  His oversight will include field sales, telesales, retail sites, and broker...

Cervical Cancer Screening Saves Lives

June 8, 2022 | Buffalo, NY

In New York state, 20 percent of individuals who are eligible for cervical cancer screening are not following the screening guidelines, despite the evidence that screening saves lives.   A review of data by Univera Healthcare found that since...

 

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