Uno Health Unveils Tool to Help Americans Check Eligibility for Financial Benefits

Each year, billions of dollars in benefits are unused. Uno Health hopes to change this with its recent launch of the Uno Savings Guide, a resource that helps people determine their eligibility for financial benefit programs.

Uno Health, based in New York, works with health plans to connect members to state and federal programs. The Uno Savings Guide, meanwhile, is a free online resource available to anyone. It asks users a series of questions that take 30 seconds to answer, like the state they live in and their monthly household income. The tool then tells users what income-based programs they likely qualify for, such as Medicaid, Medicare Savings Programs, SNAP, utility, prescription and phone assistance. 

It also provides estimates of how much they could save with these programs and links to application forms, as well as tips on how to enroll successfully. The tool is needed as Americans face Medicare Advantage benefit cuts and potential Medicaid changes in the future, said Anna De Paula Hanika, co-founder and CEO at Uno Health.

“Our primary goal is to help as many eligible people as possible access the benefits they desperately need, especially in this challenging economic environment and period of uncertainty around safety net programs,” De Paula Hanika stated in an email. “We want to raise awareness that this assistance exists and make it easier to access.”

The Uno Savings Guide is offered in both English and Spanish. It is currently available for users in New York, Florida, Texas, Pennsylvania, Indiana, Kentucky, Wisconsin and Missouri. Uno Health plans to expand the tool to New Jersey, California, Minnesota and Oregon in the near future.

To make people aware of the Uno Savings Guide, the company is promoting the tool on its website, social media channels and email communications, according to De Paula Hanika. It is also working with a variety of partners — including providers, nonprofits and retailers — to increase awareness.

The Uno Savings Guide utilizes Uno Health’s rules engine, which processes complex program rules for each state and converts them into an easy-to-understand set of questions. The company uses the same eligibility checker for its contracted partners but wanted to offer a public version of its technology to help more people.

“Thirty-eight million Americans live at or below the federal poverty level. … Recent policy changes have increased out-of-pocket expenses for consumers,” De Paula Hanika said. “At the same time, the national conversation around the unsustainable cost of healthcare has intensified. In light of these challenges, we wanted to extend Uno’s technology to make it easier for individuals to unlock thousands in savings and overcome financial barriers to accessing care. This is especially critical at a time when lower-income Americans are being disproportionately impacted by rising prices across the board.”

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