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UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

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161–170 of 394 posts

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#161
This guy's condition is tragic, but it's crazy to me that people can read this and come away thinking the insurance companies are the bad guys.

Many drugs don't work, they are expensive. If there are no voices in the room saying "we will not pay for expensive drugs that do not work", then healthcare costs will continue spiraling out of control.

Single payer healthcare will "solve" this by ensuring that the medications this guy was taking do not exist and are never prescribed in the first place.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#162
post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you familiar with sampling bias.

Based on what I've read here they aren't.

I literally have a PhD in social science and studied public opinion research at the graduate level with one of the field’s most highly accomplished political scientists of his generation.

I also have a basic modicum of common sense and the ability to observe my environment.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#163

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Everything you see online is intensely, competitively selected for its ability to drive engagement Mostly you're seeing accounts/sites you follow and choose to view and often those accounts have a consistent set of commenters. It's not like you log and the internet shows you entirely random things every time.

If you're viewing "Reddit, Twitter, YouTube, news articles, et al", that's usually not so. Each of these platforms optimize their default views to show you the content they expect will be most engaging, although the first three apply some algorithmic filtering to try and make the content engaging to you in particular rather than the average viewer. Equally importantly, the content that gets produced is subject to thi…

Let’s not forget if you go against the grain and post “people are celebrating murder, which is gross” you are probably going to get downvoted—even on this site!

This whole celebration of murder thing is so bizarre. The fact it seems to be the default “way to get upvotes” and speaking out is “downvote city” is… well… disconcerting to say the least.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#164

The events of the last week are just what happens when a company decides to refuse to meet its customers in the marketplace of sane ideas. You could probably have gotten away with what UNH did if the money wasn't so ridiculous. Thompson himself had a compensation package worth $10.2 million[0] a year. It's reasonable to think that other c-suiters at the company, along with those of its parent organization, made simil…

By far the most interesting aspect of this tale is the sudden rush of evidence (news stories, internet videos etc) that insurers have abruptly started paying claims which were previously denied or mired in paperwork. The comments of e.g. [0] and [1] are filled with people claiming this. The system is clearly rattled by the appearance of the people's justice, in a "Let them eat cake" kinda way, and is trying to make a…

This is an argument for the public to keep up the pressure.

Perhaps it’s time for cleaners to clean

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#165

I really don’t get why everyone involved is allowed to have hidden prices. It looks like a highway robbery. I had a relative visiting from Europe and they had to go to the urgent care for some blood and urine tests and consultation. They received a $2,500 bill! My relative told the hospital that they are leaving the country and offered to pay $250 or good luck collecting from abroad. Then something magical happened.…

Travel insurance is cheap, effective, and available for europeans to purchase in their contry of residence. Using the health services of another country and refusing to pay in an asshole move.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#166
post #78
post #55

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> That will be part of the defense argument presented to the jury. That evidence wouldn't be admitted. There's no “the guy deserved it” defense for murder, it's always illegal to kill people.

That this sort of mass killing is an externality to our legal system is why people have to take matters into their own hands. Our system is flawed and this a a symptom.

Yes Hobbes discussed this in Leviathan.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#167

It’s bullshit like this that makes me realise how lucky we are in countries that have public health care. Sure it has problems but private systems seem to have zero advantage for the average person. Pay more for less effectiveness AND a bunch of people get nothing.

Please point to the public health care system that does not have limits on what drugs and treatments are approved.

In Brazil, health is a constitutional right. Brazil has free, universal, and unlimited healthcare. Public hospitals in large cities are on the same level as private hospitals, and both are excellent.

If you want faster non-emergency care from a private hospital, you can purchase health insurance. Doctors don’t need approval from the insurance company to perform treatments or prescribe drugs. If the drug or treatment is listed on the insurance’s website as covered, it’ll be covered if prescribed by a doctor.

Since public hospitals offer almost all treatments and drugs for free, private hospitals and insurance companies are forced to offer lower prices and support more treatments to compete.

Non-essential surgeries like LASIK are very rarely supported by health insurance in the US, but are covered by most in Brazil.

Despite all of that, the average Brazilian only pays 27.5% in income taxes vs 37% in the US. The US government’s health expenditure per capita is $12k, versus $1.2k in Brazil.

It isn’t perfect, but people in Brazil don’t go bankrupt because of health problems. They don’t have to fight the insurance companies for coverage, they don’t die untreated of cancer, they aren’t afraid of calling an ambulance, and they pay less taxes for it.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#168

This guy's condition is tragic, but it's crazy to me that people can read this and come away thinking the insurance companies are the bad guys. Many drugs don't work, they are expensive. If there are no voices in the room saying "we will not pay for expensive drugs that do not work", then healthcare costs will continue spiraling out of control. Single payer healthcare will "solve" this by ensuring that the medication…

Agreed that sometimes it is appropriate for insurance to say no.

After one round of physical therapy for tennis elbow, which made some progress but didn't completely clear up the issue, I got denied my insurer (not UHC) for the additional physical therapy that the PT recommended. The problem resolved itself on its own in a month without additional therapy. Seems like they may have been right that it wasn't medically necessary.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#169
post #86
post #26

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm also a New Yorker and I think that most of us actually do not believe that assassinations are a net benefit to society, no matter how dissatisfied with the health care system we are.

I'm not a New Yorker, but I am an American interested in societal order. I'd much rather not have to test either of your theories. One thing I learned about civilian populations during the Iraq war, if you're going to force someone to get down off the fence, you'd better know what side of the fence they're gonna jump down on. If you don't know, then for the love of whatever you deem divine, just leave them on the fen…

Yes, it is dangerous, and to be clear a very very bad direction, but here we are - the us political system is visibly collapsing in real time and this will continue.

Re: UnitedHealth's Effort to Deny Coverage for a Patient's Care (2023)

#170

This guy's condition is tragic, but it's crazy to me that people can read this and come away thinking the insurance companies are the bad guys. Many drugs don't work, they are expensive. If there are no voices in the room saying "we will not pay for expensive drugs that do not work", then healthcare costs will continue spiraling out of control. Single payer healthcare will "solve" this by ensuring that the medication…

It seems the insurance company was happy to pay for treatment that wouldn't work though (the approved treatment had already been tried), they denied a treatment that was working.
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