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| Andrew Witty |
Brian Thompson, former CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed just over a week ago, supposedly due to the company's miserable response to the needs of their policyholders. And then a pretentious UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty in a New York Times op-ed last Friday...
"attempted to deflect his insurance network’s responsibility in the growing inequity in America’s health care system, vaguely pointing to a 'patchwork' of failures decades in the making while swearing that his corporate network—which reported $22 billion in profits in 2023 alone, nearly three times the figure reported by CVS, the second-most-profitable health insurance company that year—was consistently fighting to 'deliver high-quality care and lower costs.'"
In reference to Witty's point, "was consistently fighting to 'deliver high-quality care and lower costs," I pointed out in yesterday's blog that UnitedHealthcare has a 32% denial rate compared to an industry average of 16%. And, as an example, UnitedHealthcare's rates in Massachusetts are $251 monthly compared to Blue Cross $212. These facts are hardly in the best interest of Witty's company's policyholders. There were 2500 comments in hours temporarily shutting down the comments section. Here's the scenario...
"Users shared their own horrible experiences [in the comments] with the health insurance industry, deriding Witty’s vapid analysis as a “self-serving essay” that did nothing to address UnitedHealthcare’s role in a system that prioritizes shareholder profits over successful medical outcomes for its clients."
ProPublica, one of the leaders in investigative journalism reports that, " UnitedHealth Is Strategically Limiting Access to Critical
Treatment for Kids With Autism." There's more...
"Leaked internal documents show that the insurance giant is culling providers of applied behavior analysis from its network and scrutinizing the medical necessity of therapy. Advocates say the company’s strategy may be illegal."
This "is the story about Sharelle Menard and her son, Benji, from Louisiana, who was diagnosed with severe autism at age three. Benji, who is now 10, requires 33 hours of weekly therapy to prevent the "screaming, and screaming, and screaming," prevalent before the medication, according to his mother. UnitedHealthcare, has begun denying him the hours he requires to maintain his progress. ProPublica says,,,
AOC claims denied healthcare
is an act of violence
Inside the insurance conglomerate, the nation’s largest and most profitable, the slashing of care to children like Benji does have a reason, though it has little to do with their needs. It is part of a secret internal cost-cutting campaign that targets a growing financial burden for the company: the treatment of thousands of children with autism across the country."
The company has acknowledged "that the therapy, called applied behavior analysis, is the 'evidence-based gold standard treatment for those with medically necessary needs.'" The problem, however, is cost and now UnitedHealthcare is “'pursuing market-specific action plans' to limit children’s access to the treatment. "ProPublica reports...
Although the company expects to spend about $290 million for ABA therapy within its Medicaid plans this year, even after earnings of $22 billion in net profits last year, they are investing heavily in a plan to save millions by limiting access to such care.NPR thinks Americans have had it with their country's healthcare. In a recent article, they say, "The fury over the state of U.S. health care isn't going away." Commenting how the U.S, has the most expensive healthcare in the world, the piece goes on to say, UnitedHealthcare has been widely criticized for making health care more expensive and more difficult to access. All of which is the reason for the negative response against Brian Thompson and his company.Luigi Mangione has been arrested for Thompson's murder, but so far his supporters have raised over $65,000 for his defense. Me thinks we have a problem here and it needs fixing...NOW!
Leaked internal documents show that the insurance giant is culling providers of applied behavior analysis from its network and scrutinizing the medical necessity of therapy. Advocates say the company’s strategy may be illegal.
Leaked internal documents show that the insurance giant is culling providers of applied behavior analysis from its network and scrutinizing the medical necessity of therapy. Advocates say the company’s strategy may be illegal.
UnitedHealth Is Strategically Limiting Access to Critical Treatment for Kids With Autism
UnitedHealth Is Strategically Limiting Access to Critical Treatment for Kids With Autism
