MINNETONKA (dpa-AFX) - UnitedHealthcare announced a national expansion of its rural health care initiatives to help lower costs and simplify processes for care providers. The initiatives include: speeding payments by up to 50% for approximately 1,500 rural hospitals and all Critical Access Hospitals; exempting rural providers from most medical prior authorization requirements across all lines of business; and launching new hub-and-spoke partnerships designed to deliver essential services directly to patients in their communities.
In January 2026, UnitedHealthcare launched its Rural Payment Acceleration Pilot in four states. The pilot is now immediately expanding to include five additional states: Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Virginia and West Virginia. By the fall of 2026, UnitedHealthcare intends to have expanded this program to approximately 1,500 rural hospitals and their associated rural practitioners nationally, including all Critical Access Hospitals.
UnitedHealthcare is one of the businesses of UnitedHealth Group (UNH).
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