Bad Insurance

When a patient who has private health insurance comes into the hospital for treatment, we must call a representative of the insurance company for approval. That person then makes the decision to treat or not to treat, or if to treat then for how many days. Some companies are good to work with, but there is one that is not, and they often deny treatment. I don't mind naming United Healthcare as the rotten apple because they already have a bad reputation for being greedy and not serving their customers. One example that contributed to their notoriety was a news item from a couple of years ago, and I quote from Wikipedia: "McGuire's exit compensation from UnitedHealth, expected to be around $1.1 billion, would be the largest golden parachute in the history of corporate America." The same article also stated that the giant company had a 91% unfavorable rating.

The anger I felt today was truly a "righteous indignation" that stemmed from once again having to deal with one of their rude employees who, consistent to their pattern, denied coverage. I have had to tell several folks, after they have spilled their guts to me, that their insurance company won't pay for the help they need. People pay a lot of money for the right to carry their insurance cards, and they expect the company to take care of them when they are in medical (and psychiatric) distress. They become terribly disappointed, almost stunned when they find out their insurance is practically worthless. It feels like the money the trusting "little people" pay into "healthcare" is being stolen by the huge uncaring corporation. I feel really bad for the scammed people, the system that allows this to happen, for the fraud and the betrayal.