specification: FinOps Framework
specificationVersion: '1.0'
schema: https://www.finops.org/framework/
provider: UnitedHealth Group
providerId: unitedhealth
created: '2026-05-04'
# Provenance stamped 2026-08-11: this artifact was written by the API Evangelist
# bulk sweep dated 2026-05-04, not harvested from the provider. See roadmap#35.
method: generated
modified: '2026-05-05'
reconciled: false
tags:
  - Healthcare
  - FHIR
  - FinOps
  - FOCUS
  - B2B
description: UnitedHealth Group does not expose a metered API billing surface. CMS Patient Access
  FHIR endpoints are free under regulatory mandate; commercial integrations are contracted through
  Optum / UnitedHealthcare. FinOps maps to enterprise contracts and downstream healthcare spend rather
  than per-call pricing.
sources:
  - https://developer.uhc.com
  - https://developer.optum.com
notes: No public usage-based API billing exists. This artifact captures the contractual surface;
  underlying claims, eligibility, and provider-network economics live in the broader UnitedHealth
  payer business, not at the API layer.
alignedWith:
  framework: FinOps Foundation Framework
  frameworkUrl: https://www.finops.org/framework/
  dataSpec: FOCUS
  dataSpecVersion: '1.3'
  dataSpecUrl: https://focus.finops.org/focus-specification/v1-3/
publisherName: UnitedHealth Group, Inc.
serviceCategory: Healthcare
billingModel:
  pricingCategory: Contract
  billingFrequency: Per-Invoice
  billingCurrency: USD
  chargeCategories:
    - Purchase
focusColumns:
  ServiceName: UnitedHealth Group APIs
  ServiceCategory: Healthcare
  ProviderName: UnitedHealth Group
  PublisherName: UnitedHealth Group, Inc.
  InvoiceIssuerName: UnitedHealth Group, Inc.
  BillingCurrency: USD
  ChargeCategory: Purchase
meters:
  - name: contract
    description: Optum / UHC commercial integration agreement (eligibility, claims, prior auth, network).
    unit: varies
    aggregation: sum
  - name: patient_access_apps
    description: Registered Patient Access FHIR apps; not directly billed but tracked for conformance.
    unit: app
    aggregation: count
principles:
  - name: Visibility
    description: API consumption is not separately metered. Track FHIR / commercial call volume against
      the integration contract and member-consent records.
  - name: Allocation
    description: Allocate UnitedHealth integration cost to the line-of-business sponsoring the integration
      (clinical, claims operations, member experience) rather than per-call.
  - name: Optimization
    description: Optimize at the contract level - reduce redundant eligibility lookups, consolidate
      claims-status polling, prefer FHIR bulk export over per-resource calls where supported.
  - name: Accountability
    description: Assign ownership to the team holding the Optum / UHC commercial relationship; review
      partner usage against contracted volumes and conformance metrics.
maintainers:
  - FN: Kin Lane
    email: kin@apievangelist.com