St. Luke's, UnitedHealthcare Automate 88% of Claims via Epic

By Healthcare Technology News · August 13, 2026

St. Luke's University Health Network in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, and UnitedHealthcare have automated claim status updates for 88% of the claims exchanged between them, using Epic's Payer Platform, according to Epic's newly released 2026-2027 Almanac reported by Becker's Hospital Review. The two organizations turned on Epic's Claim Status feature, giving St. Luke's staff real-time visibility into where claims stand instead of calling payers or logging into separate portals.

The move reflects a broader push to connect providers and insurers directly inside the electronic health record. Epic's Payer Platform lets health systems and health plans share data, verify coverage, and exchange claim and prior authorization information without manual intervention. UnitedHealthcare, the country's largest insurer, is a frequent participant in these integrations.

In practice, automation like this reduces staff time spent chasing claim statuses, speeds up reimbursement, and cuts administrative friction between providers and payers. As more health systems adopt shared payer connections, the manual back-and-forth that slows revenue cycles could shrink significantly.

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