United Healthcare CEO killed

posted by gut

If he had no personal harm and is just some sort of anti-capitalist vigilante that is crazy.

That said, I read the AVERAGE denial rate in health insurance is 17%.  Amazing.  Of course, that likely includes many legit denials (such as electives, attempted fraud, and stuff that isn't actually covered).

But United was more than double that rate at 35%!  And they're the largest insurer in the country.

Which seems absurd.  The flip side is they only make 7-8% operating margin, which still seems about double the industry average.  Now, on almost $400B in revenue, that extra 4% equates to $16B!

Anyway, among many things broken in the industry, it seems maybe our health insurance costs are too low (ignoring other issues) such that if United denied only 17% of claims they probably lose money.  Insurers also really stick it to the small, independent hospitals on reimbursement, which is another grossly broken aspect of healthcare.

Might not be what you are saying but a couple examples…. Last week my wife was bitten by a tick in the night. Woke up and did a telehealth virtual call and Dr/nurse practitioner had her online for 12 minutes called her in meds.

She received her bill today and the telehealth bill was $737. I have no clue why and on the other end insurance paid $699 leaving us to pay $38, which wasn’t enough but seems like the insurance was getting heavily screwed.

Back 4 years ago when I was diagnosed with cervical dystonia I had to have botox shots every 3 months. My local hospital Adena the shots cost $5000…..I was seen at Cleveland Clinic, same amount of Botox was going to be $3300. I ended up at OSU where the Dr or an act of god cured me. The 2x I received botox from OSU each time was $1200. Seems like the hospitals were again abusing prices to have insurance take it.

posted by Ironman92

Might not be what you are saying but a couple examples…. Last week my wife was bitten by a tick in the night. Woke up and did a telehealth virtual call and Dr/nurse practitioner had her online for 12 minutes called her in meds.

She received her bill today and the telehealth bill was $737. I have no clue why and on the other end insurance paid $699 leaving us to pay $38, which wasn’t enough but seems like the insurance was getting heavily screwed.

Back 4 years ago when I was diagnosed with cervical dystonia I had to have botox shots every 3 months. My local hospital Adena the shots cost $5000…..I was seen at Cleveland Clinic, same amount of Botox was going to be $3300. I ended up at OSU where the Dr or an act of god cured me. The 2x I received botox from OSU each time was $1200. Seems like the hospitals were again abusing prices to have insurance take it.

One of my partners in my company was diagnosed with colon cancer the day I was hired in 10/1993. He was cancer free until about a year ago when it returned. 

Instead of chemo, he's doing some sort of infusion therapy, which has been extremely successful. He's right around 70 years old so decided to go on Medicare instead of using my company's insurance (Anthem BC/BS). 

Cost per treatment with insurance? 50K per treatment. With Medicare? 10k per treatment. 

Insurance companies gouge the f#ck out of people. You're better off saying you're uninsured and they likely won't charge you crap.

posted by BR1986FB

One of my partners in my company was diagnosed with colon cancer the day I was hired in 10/1993. He was cancer free until about a year ago when it returned. 

Instead of chemo, he's doing some sort of infusion therapy, which has been extremely successful. He's right around 70 years old so decided to go on Medicare instead of using my company's insurance (Anthem BC/BS). 

Cost per treatment with insurance? 50K per treatment. With Medicare? 10k per treatment. 

Insurance companies gouge the f#ck out of people. You're better off saying you're uninsured and they likely won't charge you crap.

I don’t think it’s insurance doing the “charging”. The medical provider is charging the amounts. Insurance just covers blank amount or has contracted rates. Medicare either has a better rate with the provider or covers more. Maybe medical providers are the out of control ones?

It seems like Healthcare is expensive but when you add for profit middlemen its always going to be more expensive. 

posted by iclfan2

I don’t think it’s insurance doing the “charging”. The medical provider is charging the amounts. Insurance just covers blank amount or has contracted rates. Medicare either has a better rate with the provider or covers more. Maybe medical providers are the out of control ones?

Oh, I don't doubt this. My lady used to work at Alliance Hospital and she got a headache, got one Tylenol and told them to put it on her payroll deduction spending account. Got a bill for $100 for one Tylenol. Don't disagree at all with what you're saying.

Three things. I do work on the business side of doctors offices and for more then one specialty.

1) Prior Authorizations are easy to get granted. The problem is 90% of the people I have worked with in these offices don’t take the time to do them correctly or wait way to long to do them because they feel like they are wasting time. I probably get 98% of mine thru on the first time.

2) Insurances change their policies and the language in the policy every year. They literally make it almost impossible to figure out what they are saying is covered is not covered and when it is covered. The employees in their call center helping providers are even more clueless. Your only chance is to try it and find out. They need real people to write these policies and not lawyers.

3) Pharmacies often give you the wrong information about cost and if your prescription has been approved or sent for approval. When I was in Mental Health I had patients who needed their prescriptions ASAP and the number of times they lost or mishandled the scripts were insane. 

We obviously have a hopelessly broken system.  Say what you want about Obamacare, but it was an attempt at addressing this.  It’s not presented a significant change, but it’s more than any other politician has successfully done.  Outside of national security, this is our number one problem in my book.  Cliches about us “having the finest healthcare system in the world” ring more and more hollow every year.

This doesn’t justify a murder, that isn’t my stance at all.  I think health insurers are a huge part of the problem, but not the only part.

posted by Dr Winston O'Boogie

We obviously have a hopelessly broken system.  Say what you want about Obamacare, but it was an attempt at addressing this.  It’s not presented a significant change, but it’s more than any other politician has successfully done.  Outside of national security, this is our number one problem in my book.  Cliches about us “having the finest healthcare system in the world” ring more and more hollow every year.

This doesn’t justify a murder, that isn’t my stance at all.  I think health insurers are a huge part of the problem, but not the only part.

To be fair Obamacare did nothing but make it worse and the insurance companies more $$.

posted by jmog

To be fair Obamacare did nothing but make it worse and the insurance companies more $$.

Obamacare also gained access to insurance coverage (albeit shitty quality) many people could not previously get.  As I said, Obamacare is not a solution by any stretch of the imagination.  I give it credit only for being the first major attempt at reform.  It is insignificant compared to what is ultimately needed.

I found this pretty funny he went from “concept of a plan” to “ Obamacare sucks” to “I saved Obamacare all in one minute. 

https://x.com/acyn/status/1865778978029703633?s=46&t=xrxfs6mLIefacKYITrkV2A

Also….many teachers are hesitating to retire because the insurance is more than 5x higher after you retire

That makes good sense. Keep the old bitter teachers around and they’ll be even more bitter.

posted by Dr Winston O'Boogie

Obamacare also gained access to insurance coverage (albeit shitty quality) many people could not previously get.  As I said, Obamacare is not a solution by any stretch of the imagination.  I give it credit only for being the first major attempt at reform.  It is insignificant compared to what is ultimately needed.

A

Obamacare on the whole is trash. But, my son would have been uninsurable if not for the elimination of the lifetime maximum benefit. His heart troubles and ultimate open heart surgery that he had when he was 5 weeks old cost a total of $1.34million. So after 5 weeks of life, he was over the $1million maximum most plans employed before the ACA. So, for as much as I hate it, there was some good in Obamacare. Crazy to think that he's now a fit, healthy teenager with no long term medical needs but would be uninsurable. 

It saved my life (financially, not figuratively...though maybe if I couldnt have afforded the medicine). 

I was an independent contractor and not insured thru work. My plan was decent, but then I got diagnosed with Ankylosing Spondylitis after about 1-1.5 yrs of wasting money on treatments for "back pain". The shot (Humira/Enbrel) to keep the disease at bay was like $11k per month for me. Got on my parents insurance once ACA went into effect (I was eligible as a 25 year old not yet 28). It lowered the cost to $30 per month, and also qualified my for some sort of assistance card that knocked it down to $5...

posted by majorspark

He is a left wing nutjob.  The product of an elite education.

I don’t think this is accurate.  He appears to have plenty of opinions considered right wing.  

posted by Dr Winston O'Boogie

I don’t think this is accurate.  He appears to have plenty of opinions considered right wing.  

Fine.  When I read things like anti-capitalist, sympathizers more on the left, shouting "lived experience" among other things my radar points left... I have the sense the guy has some guilt about his privileged upbringing.  From what I have read he has not always felt this way.  Just my instincts.  

The guy is nuts. Psychopathy.

posted by majorspark

Fine.  When I read things like anti-capitalist, sympathizers more on the left, shouting "lived experience" among other things my radar points left... I have the sense the guy has some guilt about his privileged upbringing.  From what I have read he has not always felt this way.  Just my instincts.  

You may be right.  It just seems like his political views are all over the board.  He appears to have gone off the rails during the last 6-12 months.

not sure if its true, but someone quoted as a former roomate said he no longer could have sex because of nerve damage in his spine.  I could see where that would make someone go off the rails.