FedEx Freight | 'Chilling effect on patients': Following backlash, insurance giant UnitedHealthcare delays policy to scrutinize ER claims

[joe bucker]

'Chilling effect on patients': Following backlash, insurance giant UnitedHealthcare delays policy to scrutinize ER claims

UnitedHealthcare's new policy, which could reject as many as 1 in 10 claims, was labeled as "dangerous" by the American Hospital Association.

www.tennessean.com

Insurance giant's new ER policy called 'dangerous' by critics. It says as many as 1 in 10 claims could be rejected.

UnitedHealthcare's new policy is "dangerous," the American Hospital Association says. As many as 1 in 10 claims could be rejected.

news.yahoo.com

Coming to a state near you!
This is the great insurance company our leaders set up for us.

 

[Streaker69]

This is bad.

First of all, what's an emergency is subjective. What may be an emergency to you, may not be an emergency to me.

Things like medical history, family medical history and the availability of care in your area determine whether or not you go the ER. Painting 32 states with a broad brush is dangerous.

People don't want to go to the emergency room. They go because they feel its an emergency. We already know to expect issues at McUrgent Care so if there's no time to deal with that, it's straight to the ER.

What I see happening here is more health care providers refusing our insurance. They want to get paid and they should get paid. We pay the insurance to make sure we're taken care of. If the insurance isn't going to take care of us, why pay for it?

 

[1984Sideways]

I don't do ER's

If something breaks or is out of control then then fine they can try to fix it. Dead or alive, it bothers me not.

Part of the problem with ER's is that I take certain medicines and doctors don't want to deal with me. So the ER refuses to deal with it. Unless its something obvious like a compound fracture with bone sticking through your skin.

There are walk in clinics. Then again some of the problems that might land me in one is not worth hours of workaround and questioning by the staff based on my own history. Just as soon not to go at all.

I am medicare so that policy applies not to me. The last ER run was classified as life threatening and the billing was a cool 15000 dollars in 4 hours and kicked back home with a referral that actually confirmed a broken joint that was replaced by about 80,000 dollars more work. They could have confirmed it there in the ER. But did not bother with the testing or scanning. Just jabbed meds until I quit howling then cut me loose. Did not solve the problem at all.

A back story to that er run, the hospital maintained a walk in clinic next door. I went there first early that afternoon for the same owie. The doctor there drilled a hole in the joint and injected a steroid which did nothing when the actual joint bones itself are broken. Such a waste. I was at the ER later that night when it roared with a vengeance.

No I don't do ER's There is a bottle of whiskey in the cupboard and some other goodies for the next owie.

My personal doctor? Forget it. Its 4 weeks for a appt. Hes getting the hell out to go fishing after a decade of failed obamacare BS that essentially ruined his practice. You no longer was privately with the doctor directly, but the state and uncle sam was in there with the two of you. So that's no longer any good.

 

[dsh69]

This is bad.

First of all, what's an emergency is subjective. What may be an emergency to you, may not be an emergency to me.

Things like medical history, family medical history and the availability of care in your area determine whether or not you go the ER. Painting 32 states with a broad brush is dangerous.

People don't want to go to the emergency room. They go because they feel its an emergency. We already know to expect issues at McUrgent Care so if there's no time to deal with that, it's straight to the ER.

What I see happening here is more health care providers refusing our insurance. They want to get paid and they should get paid. We pay the insurance to make sure we're taken care of. If the insurance isn't going to take care of us, why pay for it?

Did you try to go to your doctor with an illness during Covid? I did.

I had a fever. They (my doctor) refused to see me in person (he has since been fired by me). I had to go to Urgent Care. They couldn't figure it out so they sent me to the Emergency Room for tests they couldn't do.

Now UHC is billing me for $500 for an Emergency Room visit they deem as not necessary.

The whole Charlie Foxtrot is somewhat Orwellian.

 

[Streaker69]

Did you try to go to your doctor with an illness during Covid? I did.

I had a fever. They (my doctor) refused to see me in person (he has since been fired by me). I had to go to Urgent Care. They couldn't figure it out so they sent me to the Emergency Room for tests they couldn't do.

Now UHC is billing me for $500 for an Emergency Room visit they deem as not necessary.

The whole Charlie Foxtrot is somewhat Orwellian.

I've only used my health insurance once since January. I cut my hand pretty bad and required stitches. I forget how much the total bill was, but I received a bill for 400.

 

[1984Sideways]

Since writing that I actually ended up in the ER for a infection.

It was not something you could fix at home and none of the doctors would tell me what I am fighting in terms of the IV antibiotics being forced into the arm. I pulled hospital records after and found that I was fighting either STrep A or staph. Either one is fairly lethal if it got into the blood vessal and the body clots it. Striking you dead at the brainstem via stroke.

They discharged me on paper from the ER after 5 hours and tens of thousands in billing from hundreds of blood tests. It was another 30 hours before they provided a room upstairs. They accommodated me well enough but the situation was really rustic for a while.

At some point they asked about my vax status, I told them forget it. Its religious. So they protected that. It was not about Covid at all. They tested for that too twice daily.

As far as visits go it was something the doctors and nurses were happy to deal with. A non covid actual case that is worth fighting for in terms of the threat to life itself. There were a few who showed fear. I told them to just pray to the Arch angel Micheal for battle support prior to coming through my door. Nothing bad will happen to them. But not all of us go through life without worrying about being afraid of something.

 

[1984Sideways]

The billing has rolled in since. The hospital has been paid approximately 80,000 flat leaving me with a few hundred to cover. There is another 10,000 to 20,000 in various work not yet completed through their billing. One thing came of note.

A room is usually 2000 a night. However the critical care rooms are 16000 on up per night which I was billed at. Hosptial and insurance argued it down to about 6000 a night. And all rooms now are private rooms out of necessity with covid. I dont do shared rooms its not good.

In the new coming year with copays, they are increasing in some things. I have pretty much done the grand tour these last few years in copays so none of that applies anymore. That was another reason to get alot of the necessary work in replacing broken bones with spare parts. With enough of them you would probably eliminate osteoarthritis which is a cause for bone failures. Fortunately Pathology did not find anything of concern in them which does happen now and then in terms of cancer inside them.

They paid about 3000 so far in laser eye work to restore my sight. I was actually blind until the operation this month with it to burn off the problems inside the eyes. The laser is about 1200 with a 30% copay. The rest of the eyework prior to and after the laser is to determine other things which may or may not allow me to keep a license. If I was a trucker this month that would have stopped all stopped. You cannot use just one eye to drive a semi. You can do that with cars however but its not ideal.

As expensive as all this work, its not by choice. Its simply a medical problem that can be solved so far. Just expensive to those who do not have insurance and there is the problem.

 

[dsh69]

'Chilling effect on patients': Following backlash, insurance giant UnitedHealthcare delays policy to scrutinize ER claims

UnitedHealthcare's new policy, which could reject as many as 1 in 10 claims, was labeled as "dangerous" by the American Hospital Association.

www.tennessean.com

Insurance giant's new ER policy called 'dangerous' by critics. It says as many as 1 in 10 claims could be rejected.

UnitedHealthcare's new policy is "dangerous," the American Hospital Association says. As many as 1 in 10 claims could be rejected.

news.yahoo.com

Coming to a state near you!
This is the great insurance company our leaders set up for us.

I had two ER visits early this year and they paid both according to our great plan