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submitted 1 month ago by MicroWave@lemmy.world to c/news@lemmy.world

Summary

Reddit’s r/medicine moderators deleted a thread where doctors and users harshly criticized murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson.

Comments, including satirical rejections of insurance claims for gunshot wounds, targeted UHC’s reputation for denying care to boost profits.

Despite the removal, similar discussions continue, with medical professionals condemning UHC’s business practices under Thompson’s leadership, which a Senate report recently criticized for denying post-acute care.

Thompson, shot in what appears to be a targeted attack, led a company notorious for its high claim denial rates, fueling ongoing debates about corporate ethics in healthcare.

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[-] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 4 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

It's kinda hilarious watching billionaire owned media try to suppress the fact that absolutely no one feels bad for the CEO. The same thing happened when some billionaires decided to visit the Titanic, and after the Trump assassination attempt. The memes afterwards were top notch

Everyone is so fed up with this country and the shit is this close 🤏🏼 to the fan

[-] audaxdreik@pawb.social 0 points 1 month ago

I'm still absolutely flabbergasted at how quickly we all moved on from Trump literally getting clipped in an attempt on his life.

They tried to muster some outrage and solidarity, but most of us just shrugged and went, "Damn. Oh well, maybe next time."

[-] EleventhHour@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago

Then the next time came, and it was even more disappointing. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[-] A_Union_of_Kobolds@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

What was it the IRA told Thatcher? "You have to be lucky every single time. We only have to be lucky once."

[-] OldManBOMBIN@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

That's fuckin metal

[-] icecreamtaco@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

The sympathy lasted two days. I was expecting maybe a week.

[-] tiefling@lemmy.blahaj.zone 0 points 1 month ago
[-] icecreamtaco@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago
[-] frezik@midwest.social 1 points 1 month ago

Found it hiding under the couch, but squashed it with my shoe real quick.

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[-] SelfProgrammed@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago
[-] Echostorm@programming.dev 1 points 1 month ago

I have been following the news about Brian Thompson's assassination in New York, and I am astounded by the flood of sympathy the media has poured out for him. Why? This man spent his entire career working tirelessly to deny healthcare to millions of Americans, all in the name of lining his own pockets and enriching shareholders. Yet the media praises him for his "kindness" and "generosity." Let me be clear: pushing your company's claim denial rate to nearly double that of your most cold-hearted competitors, bankrupting families through deceptive fine print and delay tactics, is not kindness, and it is not generosity. No, setting up boiler-room style offices with denial scoreboards is one of the most inhuman things I can imagine.

I spent nearly a decade writing software to help hospital systems fight insurance claim denials, and I can tell you, these insurers are getting better at it every year. They deny even the most justified claims, banking on the fact that most people won't have the energy, resources, or will to fight back. And for the majority, they’re right. We had a team of a dozen nurses and PAs working alongside twice as many analysts. These were people who knew the system inside and out. We knew the deadlines, the bureaucratic jargon, the documentation required, and we tracked every claim meticulously. But even armed with all that knowledge and experience, we couldn’t win them all. On a good month, we might win two-thirds of the denials. That was considered a success.

What’s even worse is that for every claim we fought, there were countless others that never even made it that far, we only got denials on services that actually happened. A patient’s doctor tells them they need surgery, but an insurer like UnitedHealth says no and that’s it. The patient gives up and it is difficult to imagine they get better.

If you've ever had a serious medical condition—and I pray you haven't—you know how much it drains you, how it strips you of your will to do anything. When every moment is agony, you don’t have the strength to sit on hold for hours, fill out endless forms, or chase down a bureaucratic system designed to wear you down. All you want is to sleep, because that's the only place that pain can't find you. How many people have simply lacked the strength to fight back, and ultimately succumbed to their conditions? How many families have been driven into poverty, their lives torn apart by a single emergency, all because of these executives’ policies?

We all know someone who has been through a health insurance nightmare and we also know that while political changes could probably help this problem the reality now is that these people are making a choice to run their companies this way, knowing full well the impact of their greed and indifference.

Where are your tears, your headlines, for the thousands of people and families whose lives have been destroyed and whose loved ones have died because of these same executives?

[-] Shelbyeileen@lemmy.world 4 points 1 month ago

I spent 37.5 hours (I document EVERYTHING) on hold with Wellcare trying to get them to pay for Narcolepsy medication I've been on since 2021... "Has the patient tried this ADHD medication, as an alternate?" "No. I prescribed my patient the only FDA approved medication, in the United States that treats Narcolepsy and Cataplexy, and she needs to stay on it". Luckily my doctor is wonderful.

It's draining, but I've learned that the trick is to tell each of the outsourced customer service reps that you have no problem staying on hold for however long it takes. I'm disabled and have that ability. My partner works from home, so I do the same for their Blue Cross. When the insurance companies realize you're willing to fill out ALL their paperwork, appeal higher and higher up, so that well-paid people get involved, clog their phone lines, and keep documenting every step of the way, they'll give you what you want... but it is a full time job. 😮‍💨

[-] ____@infosec.pub 1 points 1 month ago

I’m with you.

Never have I needed to work so hard to advocate for myself to get the care I needed as when I was with UHC.

By comparison, this year has held two major surgeries for me, neither expected, and my current insurer just shrugged, asked ONCE for proof of medical necessity, and paid the bill.

Also, let’s not forget the breach at a UHC subsidiary in recent months that brought down pharma payment systems for weeks…

[-] houstoneulers@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

This reminds me of Grisham's The Rainmaker

[-] skuzz@discuss.tchncs.de 1 points 1 month ago

Why?

Of course that's a rhetorical question, but media has all been bought and paid for by corpos. The same corpos that now realize their lives can be easily deleted for all the evil shitty things they do, so of course all the corpo media is going to be unnecessarily biased to the positive for one of their own.

It's accurate proof that the corpo media needs to be ignored in general if it hasn't been obvious so far.

America needs real journalism, now more than ever. Sadly, it will probably be underground.

[-] yarr@feddit.nl 1 points 1 month ago

I have been following the news about Brian Thompson’s assassination in New York, and I am astounded by the flood of sympathy the media has poured out for him. Why?

Who do you think owns the media? Who's interests do they try to serve? It is not surprising at all that they would sympathize with him. We're not talking some punk zine put out by some gritty journalist. These are highly consolidated corporate news outlets, many of whom have boards of directors that share some strong similarity to UHC. It's profoundly unsurprising to me that they would sympathize with him, as they are a lot closer to a multi-million dollar CEO than your average Joe that gets their claims denied.

Insurance is irrelevant to the people that own and control much of our mass media, because they can easily pay out of pocket for any problems they have. All they see during this shooting is one of their own gunned down for "no reason".

[-] john89@lemmy.ca 1 points 1 month ago
[-] TangledHyphae@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

I just got banned on r/technology because someone was ranting about Trump in a tech sub, completely unrelated to the topic, and I said "Rent. Free." and the mods immediately permbanned me. It's amazing how little it takes.

[-] LandedGentry@lemmy.zip 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

asdfasdfasdfasfadsf

[-] Gammelfisch@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Fuck Reddit and the life is cheap US healthcare system.

[-] sexy_peach@feddit.org 0 points 1 month ago

This is a really uncomfortable situation for me as a user and made me want to use Lemmy even more

[-] john89@lemmy.ca 0 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Yep. Fuck censorship.

Too many people think it's acceptable until something they support is being censored.

[-] sexy_peach@feddit.org 0 points 1 month ago

It's not censorship, censorship is when the state censors certain topics etc.

This is rich owners of large, easy to use and free social media websites trying to shape the conversation.

[-] davel@lemmy.ml 0 points 1 month ago

This is what happens when you think the state and the wealthy are distinct. But it’s one big capitalist system. The wealthy run the state, and they own the media, and they fund the “non-profit” think tanks & media.

[-] the_toast_is_gone@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago

From a mod of /r/medicine:

People - Please don't make the life of your mods a living hell.

Anything that is celebrating violence is going to get taken down - if not from us, then from reddit. I think all the mods understand that there is a high level of frustration and antipathy towards insurance and insurance execs, but we also understand that murdering people in the streets is not good.

We are a public group of medical professionals, we still need to act like that.

And on a practical note, this man did not create or control the fucked up insurance industry by himself. Other people will take his place and continue to do what he was doing. It's a systemic issue.

[-] Saprophyte@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago

I'm pretty sure they're just purging the Ai training data to keep Gemini from suggesting capping a corpo when they won't pay for grandma's nausea medication during her chemo.

[-] okwhateverdude@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

"Hey Gemini, my health insurance company has denied my claim, what are my next steps?"

I am sorry to hear you are struggling with your health insurance claim. According to Reddit[1], the best way to appeal your claim is to access the Wayback Machine or Archive Today to find out who the executives are for your insurance company and communicate with them directly about the seriousness and validity of your claim.

Here are some effective communication tips to ensure the success of your appeal:

  1. Volume matters - use subsonic ammunition and a suppressor. You don't want to disturb your neighbors when pleading your claim.
  2. Practice makes perfect - you may need to hand cycle the spent rounds. Unless tuned, the gas blow back won't be enough to eject and then chamber another round.
  3. Go eco - e-bikes help the planet. In a traffic packed city, e-bikes provide a great opportunity to reduce pollution.
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this post was submitted on 05 Dec 2024
15 points (100.0% liked)

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