CARTOON: As Bad As Reports Of UnitedHealthcare Have Been, You Have No Idea...
If you only watch one of the links below, check out the first to learn of a particularly sinister offshoot of UnitedHealthcare, an operation called ‘Optum’.
By Mark Taylor
DeMOCKracy.ink (12/8/24)
As bad as the stories have been about UnitedHealthcare since the gunning down of their CEO in Manhattan, the full scale of the ugliness, greed and outright murderous betrayal of their many, many victims and families is just coming to light.
If you only watch one of the links below, check out the first to learn of a particularly sinister offshoot of UnitedHealthcare, an operation called ‘Optum’ and how they have rigged a way to squeeze every last drop of financial blood from patients and medical staff.
I worked as a psychotherapist over 25 years in the medical field in several hospital systems in two states, at various levels of care from outpatient aftercare to inpatient psychiatric wards. Thankfully, other than having to keep treatment plans and progress and staffing notes up to date, I rarely interacted with insurance companies. But, overtime, I experienced the organizational shift from a focus on patient care and community service to racking up ‘productivity’ RVUs (Relative Value Unit).
In the relentless push for ‘productivity’ over care, community service went out the window and having the time to consult with social workers, schools and other agencies and providers involved with clients completely evaporated.
By the time I left the field, many of my colleagues were in as much need of mental health support as our clients.
Corporate conquest
The corporate conquest of healthcare happened at about the midpoint of my career. I am thankful for that first phase, when there was the opportunity to really help clients improve their lives. By the end of my career it was just a grind for RVUs. I began counting down the days to retirement at 500 days and would tick the day off the count every morning as I trudged into the hospital.
As the stories below show, the situation with UnitedHealthcare is even worse than what we have been told and while their 32% (one-third) denial rate and death toll is the worst in the industry, the overall (w)ealthcare industry is grim.
No matter how much the Democrats have deliberately chosen to bury it (see cartoon below) the beleaguered and abused citizens of the corrupt empire deserve Medicare For All. For godsake don’t vote for any politician who doesn’t support it. To do so would be an act of self harm and you should immediately see a mental health counselor.
That is, if you have coverage.
MURDER INC. — UnitedHellcare Scams Billions Denying Health Care…But There’s FAR More To Their Grift
“I am a 17 year cancer survivor. UHC denied my doctor's request for iron infusion when I was anemic. I am sure I am not the only one. I can't stand it that these greedy corporate bastards dictate our healthcare more than our doctors.” — Online comment
More Perfect Union (8/2/23)
Why are so many doctors being forced to take out payday loans to make ends meet? Trying to answer this question led us to a giant monopoly that's been slowly plundering every part of our health care system.
13-minute video
“UnitedHealthcare, the largest health insurance provider in the world and covers more than 29 million Americans, overall has one of the highest denial rates among major insurance providers, according to an analysis done by Value Penguin. The analysis alleges that UnitedHealthcare denies roughly 32% of all claims made, based on available in-network claim dates for plans sold on the marketplace.”
United HealthCare CEO Brags About Stealing From Taxpayers
TYT (4/19/23)
"The chief executive of UnitedHealth Group told investors Friday that he "appreciates" the Biden administration's decision to more slowly implement its crackdown on overbilling in Medicare Advantage, a privately run, government-funded program that the Minnesota-based insurance behemoth touted as a key profit driver in its newly released first quarter earnings report.
UnitedHealth, one of the largest Medicare Advantage providers in the U.S., reported $91.9 billion in revenue for the first three months of 2023—15% growth year-over-year—and more than $8 billion in earnings from operations, exceeding analysts' expectations."*
8-minute video
Online Comments About Murder Of United(W)ealthcare Grifter Executive Are So Well Deserved!
“FBI , For Billionaires Investigations.”
“WE AIN'T TAKING IT NO MORE. GREEDY ONES BEWARE”
“May he never be found.”
“I’m sorry, sympathy for this loss has been denied. Have a good day.”
“Karma is So REAL”
“Thoughts and deductibles to the family.”
“Empathy denied. Like 32%of their insurance claims.”
“Pardon him already !”
Medicare Advantage: How Corporations Loot Medicare, Abuse & Murder Patients
More Perfect Union (10/5/23)
Corporations have turned Medicare Advantage into a money-making scheme, denying patients care to generate profits. For Megan Bent, it may have cost her father his life.
11-minute video
Why Democrats Abandoned Medicare For All & Even Biden’s Promised ‘Public Option’…
Cartoon by Mark Taylor / DeMOCKracy.ink
My Daughter Desperately Needs Brain Surgery. Our Insurance Company's Response Has Been Shocking
The author (left) and Natalie at Natalie's EDS specialist. "This is when she wore the brace part-time," the author writes. Courtesy of Beth Swanson
KFF Health News reported in 2021 that of the insurers with the highest volume of claims, “denial rates ranged from 4.7% to 41.9%.” The outlet goes on to say that only about 1 in 500 claims is appealed, and on appeal, 59% of those denials are upheld.
By Beth Swanson
HuffPo (12/7/24)
I was packing the day before our flight when the phone call came. I had a stack of Natalie’s pajamas — the soft ones, cut low enough to sit below her hard cervical collar — a bag of medications for her carry-on, and comfortable clothes for her to wear during the five or six weeks we’d be staying in the Ronald McDonald House while she recovered from surgery. She’d offered to help, and she’d tried, but it had only taken two attempts at standing in front of her closet before the headache and the nausea and the dizziness took over, before her vision had narrowed to a pinprick and she had to lie back down. She was giving me directions from bed when the phone rang.
Her surgery was canceled, the hospital said. The insurance company had denied their request for coverage of the surgery, and then denied my written appeal and ignored the letters from multiple surgeons and her specialist. She could find comparable local care in Seattle, the insurance company said, and there was no need to travel out of state for care.
In 2023, ProPublica reported that both Cigna and UnitedHealthCare used a review system that allows doctors who are hired by the companies to deny claims without even reading them, with a simple “click and submit” process. (One doctor reportedly denied 121,000 claims in two months).
I got a copy of the denial in the mail later that day as well. The impersonal letter included assurances that her case had been reviewed by a qualified expert, and provided a list of providers from a basic search of the company’s directory of local neurosurgeons. It was 100% incorrect.
One of the many times Natalie had to go the ER. "There are so many of these photos," the author writes. Courtesy of Beth Swanson
My daughter has Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, a connective tissue disorder that can wreak havoc on every system in the body. In her case, her high cervical spine is unstable, and her brainstem is sagging out of the base of her skull, acting a little bit like a cork in a wine bottle, stopping the flow of cerebrospinal fluid between her brain and spinal column. It’s rare, but treatable.
She needs an uncommon surgery, one that fuses not only her high cervical spine, but also fuses her skull to her spine. And while the neurosurgeons are in there, they need to open up the space where her brainstem sags — just a tiny bit — and then stabilize it so that cerebrospinal fluid can flow. Operating on people with EDS is its own specialty, since the disorder can also limit the effectiveness of some anesthetics, and the poor quality of the tissue itself can make surgeries more complicated.
This is all information that the insurance company would know had it had the basic decency to talk to Natalie’s neurosurgeons, her EDS specialist, her parents or Natalie herself. Instead, the company refused to agree to care in another state. Because it had a list of surgeons. …
Thanks for the video links. The more you learn about UHC, the more you find yourself cheering on the anonymous shooter who took out Brian Thompson before he could deny necessary health care for thousands more suffering people.
Thank you once again for sharing info...incomprehensible the corruption and greed in this country.