Inside STAT's investigations of UnitedHealth Group

The killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson has sparked extraordinary public interest in the nation’s health insurance industry. Much of the outcry has centered not on the killing itself but on health care executives - who have been become symbols of an industry seen as too often inclined to focus on its bottom line, not the health of customers.
A team of STAT journalists spent the last two years diving deep into how UnitedHealthcare’s parent company, UnitedHealth Group, operates and its impact on the health of Americans. In this video, our reporters distill what they’ve learned about the company and explain why STAT focused so singularly on it.
This year, in the ongoing series “Health Care’s Colossus,” STAT documented how UnitedHealth wielded its unrivaled physician empire to boost its profits and expand its influence. The year before, in the “Denied by AI” series, STAT exposed how UnitedHealth used an unregulated algorithm to override clinicians’ judgments and deny health care, highlighting the dangers of AI use in medicine.
STAT reporters Casey Ross, Bob Herman, Tara Bannow, and Lizzy Lawrence have reviewed thousands of pages of documents, pored over reams of data, and convinced dozens of clinicians to speak with them to reveal the untold costs of UnitedHealth’s dominance.
They show how UnitedHealth has turned health care into an assembly line that treats millions of patients as products to be monetized. And they chronicle how the $5 trillion American health care system came to be so broken.
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Founded in 2015, STAT is a global digital media brand that focuses on delivering fast, deep, and tough-minded journalism about the life sciences industries to over six million monthly site visitors and an additional 20 million readers on the Apple News app. STAT takes you inside academic labs, biotech boardrooms, and political backrooms, casting a critical eye on scientific discoveries, scrutinizing corporate strategies, and chronicling the roiling battles for talent, money, and market share. With an award-winning newsroom, STAT provides indispensable insights and exclusive stories on the technologies, personalities, power brokers, and political forces driving massive changes in the life sciences industry - and a revolution in human health.

[@KassFor]

The problem is not that the lawmakers don’t understand, they know exactly what’s going on. The problem is that they regularly receive legalized bribes called “campaign contributions” from these exact companies.

[@waterliliesbymonet7827]

I read a comment left somewhere by someone from overseas. He/she thought, by the way all these people are dying or their claims being denied...may be the politicians overlook because in the end, the government doesn't have to pay social security or pensions when people die prematurely. Maybe there is some truth to that as well..? 🤔

[@watamatafoyu]

Citizens United opened the floodgates. I wonder how many people were killed by that decision.

[@makylemur7019]

The corrupt U. S. Supreme Court gutted campaign finance laws several years ago.

[@karinasmith5183]

I just canceled my united health dental insurance, it is small step but I hope to make large impact

[@polluxtroy1310]

*IT IS TIME FOR AMERICANS TO STAND TOGETHER AGAINST CORRUPT CORPORATIONS AND GOVERNMENT* _We should not have to live this way_

[@hightower6645]

Healthcare companies have gotten too big. The only viable option for Americans that don't like them is to move to countries that have a universal system.

[@lauraw.7008]

Lina Khan should KEEP her job! She is fighting consolidation and unhealthy, unsafe monopolistic practices.

[@lauraw.7008]

😢Vertical integration is a TERRIBLE idea, because it is NOT being used to improve CARE, it is only positively impacting profits and CEO pay.

[@PamelaRunge]

oh she has been fired for doing a great job but don’t worry she will be replaced by “ only the best people” look at all the others he has chosen!

[@paulpolichio6514]

​A modest proposal. Maybe have the 1000 top executives along with the 1000 top investors consume each other as in a picnic. Then we Americans can stay home.

[@leav388]

Excellent journalism. Thank you. Why not do a piece interviewing people who were denied care by UHC, or their surviving relative? That is the journalism people want to see now.

[@laulaja-7186]

Especially given how "growth" of an insurance corporation very directly means they have charged customers more than the insurance product should ever have cost, for whatever reason. Profiting (in UHC's instance) from not honoring commitments made, is not respectable business.

[@Lisa-r6u1w]

Reddit has sub reedits devoted to that topic it's horrifying to hear how despicable Brian Thompson , Andrew Witty and the rest of their cronies really are .

[@supreme5580]

Great idea!!!

[@georgecallanan512]

United is an embarrassing example of greed and exploitation of its customers. The more I learn about this company the more disappointed I become. They are a disgrace and deserve to be regulated.

[@CapricornSunSagRisingLibraMoon]

I was a PR director for a major healthcare insurance corporation. UHC and others were not always driven by AI or Algorisms. Those techniques did not exist in the 1980/1990s. The industry was, and is still, always been profit driven. Can you imagine receiving $ 3.2 million dollar bill for one surgery for your child or surgeons having to cut the amount of anesthesia because insurance companies won't pay or elderly patients denied treatment or medications because the company policy is based on how long they will live so why bother. The healthcare insurance industry owns the hospitals and providers because it dictates hospital policy in respect to what they will and will not pay. Senior executives receive unbelievable compensation packages that include millions in bonuses for keeping cost low at the patient's expense. My best friend was denied a particular cancer treatment and subsequently died that's when I resigned. Some might say Luigi is a killer but then they should also say UHC is a serial killer, even if its method is different people still suffer and die because of its policies. There's only one word to describe it, "GREED!"

[@abigailandino6251]

Don’t kid yourself. It’s always been about profit. It will always be about profit. Even in non profits it’s for profit. All they do is get creative with the budget.

[@watamatafoyu]

We need a tally of how much money saved in illegitimate claim denials that hurt or killed people went to corporate execs instead. This is blood money, much like the Mafia.

[@l.w.paradis2108]

If I provide information from pending suits against UHC, guess what? Scents or ship.

[@Clearskysahead]

@@CapricornSunSagRisingLibraMoon Health care insurance as Americans know it, should not exist.

[@sunnyadams5842]

Thaf's it. Truly Evil Narcissistic PIGGYNESS!

[@waterliliesbymonet7827]

This video should get more views!! Thank you for this investigation!

[@animec-dramaskpop6362]

Share the video

[@sarala1jan]

It will once click on ‘like’, ‘comment’ and ‘watch’ and ‘share’….it will give it a few more days….it will reach in millions

[@Robert-h1o5]

FREE LUIGI

[@melaniebates2147]

Keep talking about this issue.

[@ernestheau9146]

These people are not emphasizing out that a large number of people who are unjustly being denied their healthcare end up dying. They mainly point out how UHC makes more profit, but not saying that it results in more people unfairly dying.

[@watamatafoyu]

UHC needs to be independently audited to see how many invalid claim denials they're making. We're paying for coverage, they're obligated to provide it or they're committing fraud.

[@Jen-j2u]

This is great coverage that more people need to see. Thank you to all the reporters for the details provided. In my humble opinion, I suggest possibly making a short clip about United Health Care's tactics Monopoly tagged with also Mangione so it could reach more people.

[@kennyyang6350]

Both united healthcare and hospitals should be held liable for unalives millions of innocent people. healthcare and hospitals both prioritizes profits over human lives. I am surprise why no one mentions hospitals being at fault also.

[@olebelrngr]

The elderly require more skilled nursing care and rehab services. This is an area where United Healthcare Advantage has been very aggressively denying service. The elderly are also more likely not to pursue appeals, just going home or paying themselves for care. While my 83 year old wife was in a facility there were other United Healthcare Advantage clients were there and they were denied even when the staff knew they needed to have more care yet the clients chose not to appeal and go home or pay themselves. We went back to Medicate and a supplement. Is the tactic by UHC to encourage the high cost elderly to go back to Medicare or to pay themselves?

[@bugsy2902]

Not everyone can qualify for a Medicare supplement due to medical underwriting. They can get Medicare but without a supplement they are on the hook for 20% out of pocket no maximum! And to appeal the nursing home rehab denial you are expected to pay for the cost out of pocket and a year later you may be reimbursed. Most people don't have the tens of thousands to pay upfront. Congress needs to change this practice they have no excuse! They have been informed and yet nothing has changed. A simple law that they must pay for everything Medicare does would change that, no exceptions! But they are bribed and bought by these evil insurance companies to look the other way!

[@olebelrngr]

@@bugsy2902 Neither of us could qualify with underwriting. This was our first year on an advantage plan which is classified as a trial year. We returned to Medicare and the supplement plan that we had had several years. It is expensive but we think we have no choice but to do it while we can. Being mid 80s with numerous health issues we think we must do it and can make adjustments to pay for it for the few years we are likely to be here.

[@watamatafoyu]

Yes, they're a for-profit company that puts their profits above your care. It's a conflict of interest. Paying for claims they're obligated to conflicts with their fiduciary responsibility to maximize profit for shareholders.

[@Clearskysahead]

@@watamatafoyu That is so wrong 😑.

[@Winter-yc4sw]

Shame on insurance executives earning the money from the tax payers’ life.

[@dawnmcr802]

They have no shame.

[@SongDog9]

We dont need healthcare insurance. Insurance is not healthcare.

[@hightower6645]

Then pay more out of pocket.

[@SongDog9]

@hightower6645 no we need a single payer medicare for all system like almost every other civil nation

[@terryf3282]

​@hightower6645 I don't pay health insurance and when I was in hospital for 5 days it did not cost me a cent. The U.S has a dodgy system.

[@frederickfrei8286]

Auto insurance companies should be in the same group of corrupt industries…

[@bevs9995]

Glad to see we are talking about UH

[@leav388]

French Revolution and ever since then, -- free healthcare, paid maternity leave, 35 hour work week, 5 weeks paid vacation. Just a couple heads is all it took for the people to have a good life.

[@gappuma7883]

Need more

[@watamatafoyu]

​@@gappuma7883 We need a 2nd Enlightenment

[@ginnythwaite]

Huh? How does the French Revolution, which was not a grass roots revolution by the way, have anything to do with modern society, and in the USA? I think you are romanticising.

[@butterfish-g9f]

"A couple of heads" is a hell of a way to downplay the aftermath. More like thousands of heads in a full civil war, collapse of the state followed by military dictatorship, then monarchy, then dictatorship again and finally something resembling democracy.

[@tinyhomestead6023]

Thank you for this investigation and video. I watched it twice!

[@petertaylor4954]

Excellent work, STAT.

[@naturalphenomenon1402]

Health insurance companies pay top execs $5M - $100M/year, far above what is reasonable ($200K to $500K/year). This creates an excess upto $95M. This money could cover 2,500 denials in a lower-paying company or 47,500 denials in a higher-paying company.

[@1lll1l1ll11-c]

Thank you for covering this

[@duancoviero9759]

Real Journalism at it's best, we need more of this desperately in the U.S. CNN and MSNBC would never go look behind the curtain and call out industry.

[@preparingformountainlife]

So United Healthcare owns Optiumrx, who the state of Florida just switched all its state employees to for prescription coverage. My thyroid medication went from $14 for a 90 day supply to $100 for a 90 day supply and nobody can tell me why, the exact same medicine. It is a generic medication too. Now I understand, some medicine is lifelong and profits are a premium. Disgusting.

[@l.w.paradis2108]

They pushed the price up because they can.

[@BWFun-he7dm]

Thank you for all the extensive research and representing the voiceless. I hope this brings attention to more people.

[@patriciaonyango6531]

Stay away from Medicare advantage

[@leav388]

For sure this is next: Privatizing social security. Medicare Advantage is UHC's most profitable sector, as reported here, so UHC will want to oversee all of our deaths. That's where the money is: in our corpses.

[@raptureready5004]

AARP is making millions manipulating retirees to transfer to Medicare Advantage. Very evil

[@raptureready5004]

@yarablu exactly. Keep telling everyone. We must get with naturopath or holistic and take our health into our own hands. Dr. Mercola is awesome. They are silencing him but get on his email list and subscribe so you can get access to all his back issues. He is a powerhouse of great information. His followers are awesome too. Their comments are also incredibly valuable.

[@raptureready5004]

@yarablu Oz is friends with Marina Abromovic.... Are you familiar? Oz has dual citizenship with Turkey. He still votes there. History shows he said he would renounce his citizenship in Turkey back in 2022. Never happened.

[@raptureready5004]

@@yarablu funny my other comment isn't here. Hmmm

[@carolyndunlavy5130]

Thank you for your great investigative reporting.

[@warrenwalker8170]

These insurance companies are NOT health care providers. Doctors and nurses are healthcare providers. Insurance companies are just money lenders with a different name then a bank. ( supported by lobbyists who also must be contained)

[@veronicachan8663]

The government must step in to fix it. I’m from Asia, the place I grew up are in capitalism system. We have public healthcare that is free for everyone. If you don’t want to wait in long lines, you have the option to choose private healthcare. Doctors are very transparent about the costs-they will assist in contacting your health insurance company and provide a finalized estimate for the entire procedure. Most of the time, the final cost stays within the estimate. There are no surprise bills, and charges aren’t based on the hours spent. Instead, it’s priced by the job. Whether it takes 2 hours or 10, it’s all on the doctor. This level of transparency and fairness is what builds trust in the system. No wonder people are so angry here in America. Doctors aren’t even allowed to fully do their job without approval from insurance companies-companies run by people with no medical expertise! How does that make any sense? It’s time to let doctors focus on saving lives and to build a healthcare system that truly serves the people.

[@imanbarilero2204]

Thank you for your courage to expose UH. we need to streamline the monopoly of health care insurance companies whether UH or CVS health groups. They manipulate health plans to their advantages ending with higher premium with less coverage, even higher deductible ! I encourage the politician in WD to have control over those companies mainly for Medicare as the American population is aging which requires more focused care. Health care is not a privilege but it is HUMAN RIGHT !

[@leav388]

The problem here is the system functions by politicians taking "donations" from our corporate overlords. We would have to change that too, which seems impossible now. There will be 15 billionaires in the new admin so far (only 800 billionaires in the US total), with the rest of the admin being multi-millionaires. This incoming group of oligarchs will only make this situation much much worse. In fact, they intend to pull ACA and cut all healthcare programs. The more corpses, the more money for them.

[@maryannbrown5762]

We need to call our Senators everyday because right now Dr Oz is Trump’s pick to be head of Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) and he said on camera that all of Medicare should be Medicare Advantage.

[@maryannbrown5762]

The Senate Judiciary Committee will be voting on Trump’s cabinet picks as soon as he is inaugurated. We need to fight against all of the RFK, Jr picks to run the healthcare agencies: CMS, CDC,FDA, NIH and more. And we really need to lobby against RFK,Jr himself. He is a dangerous anti-vaxxer.

[@watamatafoyu]

They make spare change squeezing blood out of you. That's what your value is to them. You're just a resource to be exploited.

[@goldyglocks7431]

We need to build a healthcare system that refuses to allow the greed mongers to be part of it.

[@BlueTuesday-d1g]

We've got to put pressure on lawmakers to change this!!

[@wotiluv]

Why doesn’t this have more views?

[@animec-dramaskpop6362]

Share the video so more ppl can see it.

[@leav388]

Just scanned your body of work here. You all rock. Should be more widely followed. Subscribed.

[@DavidK-n3s]

Around the 17 minute mark you talk about the denial rates and how you can't tell if what United Health is claiming (90% payment rates) are true or not. There are other sources to fact check them: Ohio Hospital Association, for one, publishes payer scorecard data. Healthcare services company Kodiak publishes payer scorecards. This data is out there.

[@Jersey1971]

I'm curious to know how many people that ceo k***ed through denials from his start date to his last day at work

[@NancyWilcox-d3o]

My local hospital (which is currently in an extended contract negotiation with UHC - so no service for 80,000 people!) sent a letter saying UHC denies 32% - 34% of claims! Apparently, UHC is doing this to other hospitals as well. UHC wields too much power and is totally free to deny claims and service. What recourse does the average person have when big hospitals with attorneys can’t deal with UHC?

[@the_om_project]

I want to know who the good providers are easily and exactly how to switch over to them. Especially if on a government program that uses providers. Also how to advocate for an employer to change providers.

[@sarahn3595]

Look up Evicore

[@sunii4264]

​@@the_om_projectyou would think that those would have piped up by now. Maybe there aren't any good ones.😢

[@andreacampbell1423]

This is crazy. It sounds so draconian. This company needs to be dismantled 😢

[@Quist1852-wt2vj]

United healthcare is not a healthcare company. They are an insurance company.

[@watamatafoyu]

Going out of their way to deny claims that they're obligated to means they're not even an insurance company. They're just fraudulent robbers and social murderers.

[@Equality4All1987]

This is not a communication issue. These insurance companies PROFIT from people's sickness and death! Healthcare is probably the number one industry that should never have been monetized. Profit motive will always incentivize corporations to do whatever they can to increase the bottom line - they have every incentive to increase profit, NOT help their customers. They have a fiduciary requirement to increase profits for their shareholders and that is who they serve. This guy being interviewed trying to cover for the insurance industry is doing a big disservice to average people - but he's beholden to The wealthy people that run these companies so I'm not surprised. All I know is that I don't hear anything about the now 73,000 Americans that die a year from preventable illnesses simply because they didn't have access to health care! Our life expectancy is significantly less than the rest of the developed world, and most red states where Medicare advantage is given more than others, their life expectancies 4 years less than the rest of the country on average. This guy can reason all he wants about how United health really isn't bad but a 30% denial rate is ridiculous! Health care for all would save like 40 billion a year. Medicare and the VA have 2% administrative costs, while private health insurance has 18%. Only like 60% of every dollar even goes to health care, the rest go to the leeches in the middle. The numbers are not on your side... This guy knows this he's just trying to make excuses for the leeches. It's gross 🤢 🤮

[@leav388]

Excellent comment.

[@pamami1227]

Thanks for speaking out. Exactly as it stands.

[@kathleenroberts6931]

Liked and shared, seven words in comments, help you up the algorithm. Thank you, so very much ❤

[@hsavage2899]

This was wonderful! Please keep doing this journalism!

[@VelvetJazz]

Speaking from years of US healthcare experience- people don’t seek treatment until it’s too late, they *die* to avoid bankruptcy/ homelessness. The US for-profit health insur system *rations* care by leveraging high deductibles, delays and denials that fatten their pockets while denying coverage to their members who pay monthly premiums. Healthcare needs to be a govt-administered *service* not “insurance” because healthcare is needed more often than infrequent emergencies/ accidents/ natural events. We are the *only* democratic, industrialized country without some version of universal healthcare! Don’t fall for insur co’s scare tactics/ propaganda, see the data online- univ hc has better outcomes, greater longevity than US.

[@SpecialSP]

We can all thank Nixon for the creation of HMOs. The first was Kaiser Permanente. Watch "SICKO" by Michael Moore. He uploaded it a couple of days ago. It has the receipts …

[@CatherineMoore-rb1gx]

We have a corrupt system! Corrupt to the core

[@MelissaMazurek]

Great video. This should be shown on the board at Times Square.

[@MichaelFerraro-bt4ig]

Good work 👍 I’m sure everyone (patients and physicians alike) just want to see people go to the doctor, go to the hospital with whatever is ailing them and get it fixed, whatever the problem. No red tape for the patient, no exorbitant costs for the patient, no red tape for the physician. In short, I think everyone wants healthcare insurance to disappear (everyone except healthcare insurance and everyone in their pockets).

[@MichaelFerraro-bt4ig]

I really wish everyone, everywhere would see that this is just yet another disastrous byproduct of the world’s revolving around money. This is the true enemy of “humanity”.

[@Ianjames1066]

An amazing conversation. 🙏🧠

[@Elena-rt9yu]

We need to share these clips, to other social platforms

[@veronicachan8663]

@@Elena-rt9yu if you comments any bad about the health care system in the mainstream media platforms, your comments or post will get removed.

[@waxon2]

Insurance is absolutely the WRONG vehicle for administering healthcare. Here is a decent and insightful book that offers a few alternatives. "Catastrophic Care: How American Health Care Killed My Father-and How We Can Fix It": Goldhill, David

[@lucianomezzetta4332]

This is journalism, not the propaganda of the mass media.

[@KenJanda-h4d]

This is great work, but it is so complex. An excellent point that it just seems impossible to serve the best interest of patients and shareholders at the same time. And that point is bigger than just UHG. Same for pharma, medical device manufacturers and hospitals.

[@the_om_project]

Agree. I think focusing on one beast could move the needle though.

[@leav388]

The doctors are also no longer on our side.

[@Chorizo1217]

I hope a congressional investigation is done on these health insurance companies.

[@sarahpatrick7085]

Great reporting, STAT team! Very important topic and clear public communications about an extremely complex company.

[@timalete]

A "clawback" of United Healthcare profits refers to a situation where the company is required to return a portion of its previously earned profits, usually due to regulatory issues, fraudulent practices, or other misconduct, essentially "clawing back" the money that was considered improperly gained

[@donmckechnie9858]

What other way is there to get the attention of legislators. I heard one interview on PBS with the CEO of United health. He could not explain the content of an explanation of benefits (EOB) describe the insurance company paid on that patients visit to her healthcare provider.

[@mag1071]

Thank you so much for explanation!!

[@the_om_project]

Should have 1m views. Is tube suppressing it??

[@abigailandino6251]

It’s the title. They should have kept it simple , and they should have statues with the company name. Also they should have separated the words. United Healthcare Group Investigation

[@lxgxndxry24]

Companies should pay into health insurance but it should be a bank account for each employee. When they quit the amount accrued moves on to the next employer. Most people started workin in their teens so paying for healthcare in such a way shouldnt bankrupt a 40 year old. Sure give companies a small cut for managing the account but it shouldnt be stealing money from healthy people.

[@supreme5580]

14:55 Mr. Bob since the ACA? Try Harry Truman. Corporate greed in for profit hospitals has been an ongoing issue since the mid 70s at least.

[@rustybrown47]

Excellent work.

[@jenniferedmonds7069]

In Skilled Nursing Facilities it's called "Skill-to-Bill." If there is insurance dollars available the provider will prescribe (skill) rehab, i,e. PT, OT, or speech therapy, to (bill) recoup those dollars. They all play the game.

[@Wickedhandpay]

I agree with the comment this video is not getting the attention it deserves because of the title. “ Investigation of United Health Group” as a the title would be helpful.

[@Jerry-k4n]

God Bless Luigi❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@thomaslou624]

Luckily I don’t have United but I still need pre authorization for special medication. And my doctor knows how to bypass the system by using the correct algorithm. But i learned to pro actively request a pre authorization a month prior. It’s quite annoying but also you need to be responsible.

[@veronicachan8663]

The government shouldn’t funding these private healthcare insurance companies anymore, instead of creating a new public healthcare system free for all, that way, those greedy healthcare insurance and big pharmaceutical can’t dominate the market. The place I grew up, our government negotiates medicine prices with suppliers for us. The medicine is open market. If a drug’s price is too high, they drop it and source alternatives from other countries. So, the big pharmaceutical can’t dominate the market, If you’re in an accident, break your arm or leg, or suffer a stroke and rush to the emergency room, you shouldn’t have to worry about whether you can afford the bill. A doctor’s job is to save lives, this is what they signed up for. Americans need to unite and push the government to take this issue seriously. The healthcare system needs to change ASAP!

[@parkerholden7140]

Excellent Reporting My experience is with Kaiser, a Non Profit HMO. Even though this experience is pretty good, there are still problems. Coverage denials bug the doctors. Some services are subcontracted out and the subcontractor is given a free reign to rip off the paient and Kaiser does not have the skill to manage these con artists. Your reporting does not fully portray the vast tcomplexity of the US Health Care system.

[@makylemur7019]

More people have been robbed at the point of a corporation than at the point of a gun. Ralph Nader

[@seattlecathy]

Let’s not forget…AARP has partnered with United. Many people get the Medicare advantage because they see the AARP logo. AARP makes a ton of money from United commissions. They benefit from United’s cruel practices. They are not looking after their members.

[@debbiekern2841]

Why does no one ever mention the connection between UHC and Medicare? They are making a fortune off of me!!!!!

[@cdl960]

Wow, thank you for this. I've been reading your digital-print coverage of this constellation of topics for a few years now and appreciate that you packaged it here so valuably. It would be ironic if it weren't so tragic that many in the U.S. continuously rail against the notion of a national health system, along the lines of what so many other nations provide their citizens, and meanwhile, a huge private corporation has stealthily positioned themselves to be exactly that.

[@vilmatakamine9960]

I have a UHC Medicare advantage plan through, believe me I’m staying on top of everything, claims and all. I’ve been on this plan for about 3 years now, so far I’ve been blessed with no big issues 🙏🏼 . It’s up to us to do our own research and do the work. Don’t give up! We are our own advocates.

[@RayMainBagpiper]

I had to take out my retirement money to pay out my medical bills. I'm just waiting for everything to fall apart around my ears.

[@the_om_project]

I want to know who the good providers are easily and exactly how to switch over to them. Especially if on a government program that uses providers. Also how to advocate for an employer to change providers.

[@MaryAthey-bc9kl]

I have a question - How connected to UHC is Dr. Oz????? He says it will be Medicare Advantage plan to replace Medicare basics??? Dr Oz supposedly was a heart doctor before he became a TV star - I guess not a good doctor as he turned to TV to make money....

[@johnnyb8629]

It ain't over yet, and nothing ever changes in this country between the rich haves and the poor have nots without bloodshed. The insurance companies are going to try and placate and ride out this storm, we cannot allow this to happen. We had better fix this in the next 4 years or civil unrest will break out. Making Luigi an example with the terrorists charge was inflammatory.

[@ts109]

This will never be fixed till campaign bribes are made illegal and our representation is returned to we the people not them the corporations. (find the word corporation in the constitution).

[@tillyburton5402]

when people pay for a service and when it's time to use the service and then its denied....what do you think was gonna happen... I'm surprised it took so long before some one did something about it... Bet if you look closer... a bunch of politicians have stock share in these companies, so they will not do anything to affect their dividends. SHOULD BE A LAW THAT IF YOU GO INTO POLITIC THAT THEY ARE NOT TO OWN HAVE SHARES IN ANY STOCK MARKET COMPANIES.

[@ncedwards1234]

"Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." -JFK

[@kitten7258-s3b]

We need Medicare for All.

[@leav388]

You mean Medicaid for all. I've had the ACA and I've had Medicaid. The ACA is TERRIBLE, a private insurance subsidy program, with all the same problems of private health insurance. A scam. Medicaid on the other hand is EXCELLENT, but you have to be super poor to qualify. Medicaid will be the first thing Musk cuts. It will get much worse in this country when the ACA and Medicaid plus Medicare are cut. If they make these promised cuts, and considering everyone in this new admin is either a billionaire or a multimillionaire, I predict Luigi will have shot the opening salvo.

[@leefleer]

Wouldn’t this world be better, happier, more productive if everyone put people over profits?

[@irisschneider4058]

Thank you, Luigi

[@hightower6645]

Oh yeah... thank you Luigi. He just made a big problem even worse. Where do you think the extra money will come from when CEO's and their staff get the security measures and guards to keep their workplaces and residences safe? Answer: it's more than likely from us the little people that are paying our healthcare insurance premiums. Get ready to pay more!!

[@Medical_fitness_sharonPT]

@@hightower6645it will likely get worse before better, but Luigi was instrumental in being the first step which is to unite the massive rage against the healthcare system for what it is. This tears down the screen for all to see how corrupt the system is. Large hospital systems, insurance companies and all the CEOs, executives, administrators personally profiting off the corruption will desperately scramble to point fingers and hide behind each other , but they all are effectively caught with their pants down. Game over.

[@mag1071]

AARP (this is for retired people) offers(?) United Health Care.

[@judylandry302]

Dump AARP

[@JohnnyBoy-z7l]

There are two options to deal with a problem, solve it or eliminate it. Health insurance companies are not necessary "middle men", proven by the successful healthcare services of other countries. Citizens should not be forced, by their government, to buy a product they don't want or need. Dissolve health insurance companies in the USA and we'll have a functional system like other countries have.

[@polluxtroy1310]

I’m not sure the killing was that shocking. I think it was only a letter or time. And this is far from the last assassination we will probably see in the next year … Unfortunately people are fed up and frustrated and do not know what else they can do. It’s called being desperate.

[@filmestre2559]

Keep up with this issue / investigating and exposing the illegal doings of UHC and other health insurance

[@BarbaraFlowers-wq1ru]

I definitely agree we should not have to live this way homeless living in tents children are going hungry people are losing their lives because of the corruption and greed of the corporate and government structure their policies are violence against the people that they claim to serve every time I hear them say for the people I know they mean for themselves

[@l.w.paradis2108]

UHC owns doctors . . . But what happened to the 13th Amendment? P. S. In countries where universal health care exists, medical school is close to free. No indebted doctors. See how that works?

[@weareallamericans7358]

When Politicians Don't Act Patriots Will 🇺🇸😢🇺🇸😢🇺🇸😢🇺🇸😢🇺🇸

[@SandraRobinson-f3r]

🇦🇺 Think need to ensure no Representatives in any govt position has shares in these health funds. Would include immediate family in this Ban. There can be no other.reason for lack of regulation into private health issue in US. We have optional well regulated funds here as do many other countries, in many cases pay less a year than Yanks do in month. E.g. this years AMA Health check on health funds found some admin fees gone from 3.6 % to 6.8% govt is already on it, we thought this shocking amount till heard what you lot get charged, add in fact we have had better wage increase makes your rise worse, seems to cost lot of money to deny and scam patients.

[@mag1071]

It would be interesting to know how many people would change their plans but the close out date was Dec 7, 2024.

[@abigailandino6251]

“Discontent” 🤔 I think it’s darker than discontent. Abused people…..become abusive.

[@MuhammadakbarAK47]

Just use universal healthcare men . like other country

[@MuhammadakbarAK47]

Just use universal healthcare men . like other country

[@hightower6645]

If your talking about the U.S. we don't have that system.

[@ebernaranjofeliciano2262]

The problem is not United. The problem is the entire paradigm of healthcare in America. All the other developed countries figured this out 😄. Is not that complicated folks. You just can’t make money out of it.

[@Medical_fitness_sharonPT]

Answer to this colossal abuse…. Class action law suit.

[@mr_mrs4EVa]

Name the CEOs: DENY DEFEND DEPOSE

[@knowme4iam326]

Just settled 69 million for insider trading..united health care

[@l.w.paradis2108]

It was settled?? The case I saw involved much more stock sold than $69m worth.

[@theresabertrand6037]

So the public should not have advantage policies or what's another's alternative ?

[@l.w.paradis2108]

Those plans treat claims just like private insurance does -- they deny necessities. They induce you with frills, and with the story that you will never get really sick.

[@l.w.paradis2108]

Mayo Clinic stopped accepting Medicare Advantage.

[@paolaamatosabatelli3025]

What a dreadful and greedy corporations

[@chall3810]

Not corporation, industry.

[@soulfireonfire6423]

How many of those physicians were denied payment or got partial payments after sending UH their bills? If they experienced it why would they agree to be bought by them! I find it hard to believe they never got denied. I think it was more that some or many of these drs were denied payment and it put their practice in jeopardy and needed to be saved. The same people who put them there, came in as their savior , bought them , only to deceive them again!

[@leav388]

Yes, there was reporting that UHC deliberately stalls paying doctors and then offers them short term loans to cover their costs. Of course they are forcing doctors to sell. This is a RICO syndicate people.

[@jeannettezinai3213]

I hope they get investigate and force to change their selfish ways

[@kamosleh]

I would call them an insurance company, medical insurance company at best. Hardly a healthcare insurance company.

[@leav388]

You conclude with: Lawmakers are looking at UHC. Please cite exactly what you are talking about, because Americans know how Congress works, and we find this improbable, at least if lawmakers are honestly looking into this and not just performing for the public while they line their pockets with UHC money.

[@vivalaleta]

It isn't new ways to grow - it's new ways to MAKE MONEY FOR SHAREHOLDERS.