For years, patients in the American health care system have become increasingly frustrated with a bureaucracy they do not understand.
Doctors are included in an insurer's network one year but not the next year. It can be almost impossible to get someone on the phone to help you. Coverage for care and prescriptions is often unceremoniously refused.
This week's fatal shooting of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson triggered an outpouring of public sentiment — exasperation, anger, resentment, helplessness — from Americans sharing personal stories of interactions with healthcare companies. insurance, often seen as faceless giants.
In particular, the words written on the ammunition found at the shooting scene – “delay,” “deny” and “drop,” echoing a phrase used to describe how insurers dodge compensation – amplified the voices who have long criticized the industry.
“All of a sudden I'm excited again,” said Tim Anderson, describing how his wife, Mary, faced denials of coverage from UnitedHealthcare before she died of Lou Gehrig's disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. , in 2022.
Anderson said they couldn't get coverage for the machines to help his wife breathe or speak — toward the end, she communicated by blinking when he showed her photos. The family had to rely on donations from a local ALS group, he said.
“The business model of insurance is not to pay,” said Anderson, 67, of Centerville, Ohio.
“When Mary could still talk, she told me to keep fighting this,” he added. “It needs to be exposed.”
For Anderson and others, Thompson's death and the message left at the scene created an opportunity to express their frustrations. Conversations at dinner tables, at office water coolers, at social gatherings and on social media have revolved around the topic, as police efforts to find the shooter keep the case in the news.
Hans Maristela said he understood why the chatter was boiling over. The 54-year-old California caregiver was moved to comment on Facebook about UnitedHealthcare's reputation for denying coverage. As a Catholic, he said, he mourns Thompson's death and feels for his family, especially as the holidays approach.
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But he sees some frustration with insurers, even among his clients, mostly wealthy seniors who haven't been protected against the high expenses they face.
“And then you know, the CEO of this company that you pay a lot of money for gets $10 million a year, you're not going to have a lot of sympathy for that guy,” Maristela said, citing the company's compensation package. Thompson which included a base salary and stock options. “Health care is a business, I understand that, but the obsession with stock prices and profit needs to be re-evaluated. »
Michael Anne Kyle, a researcher at the University of Pennsylvania, said she was not surprised by the rise in discussion around insurers.
“People often face this issue on their own, and when you see someone else talking about it, it may inspire you to join the conversation,” she said.
Kyle studies how patients access care and says she feels frustration with the system that has been in place for years. Costs are rising and insurers are using more controls such as prior authorizations and physician networks to manage them. Patients are often stuck in the middle of conflicts between doctors and insurers.
“Patients already spend a lot of money on health care, and they still face problems with the service,” she said.
Insurers often find that most of the money they bring in is reinvested in paying claims and as they attempt to control soaring costs and overuse of certain treatments.
In Ohio, Anderson said his first reaction to the CEO shooting was to wonder if it was related to a coverage denial, like the ones he experienced with his wife.
“I absolutely do not approve of killing people,” he said. “But I read it and said, 'I wonder if anyone had a spouse who was denied coverage.'”
It's something that Will Flanary, a Portland-based ophthalmologist and comedian with a large social media following, saw a lot of online immediately after the shooting and found it very telling.
“It’s zero sympathy,” he said. “And the lesson is not, 'Let's shame people who celebrate murder.' No, it's, “Look at the amount of anger that people have at this system that takes advantage of people and do something to try to fix that.” »
Flanary's content, published under the name Dr. Glaucomflecken, began as specialist jokes about ophthalmologists and a way to cope with his own experiences with two cancer diagnoses and a sudden cardiac arrest. But it has evolved, with attention-grabbing character sketches satirizing the decisions of major health insurers, including UnitedHealthcare.
He said he's never seen conversations around health insurance policy gain as much momentum as they have this week — and he hopes these new voices can help bring about change.
“I always talk about the power of social media when it comes to advocacy,” he said, “because it's really the only way to put significant pressure on these companies that are doing bad things for patients .”
© 2024 The Canadian Press
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