By D.A.K.
I have worked in home care for almost 10 years now, and I have been a billing manager for over three years. I have learned to become an expert at this stuff. I have seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to insurance policy and regulations — and plenty of it has been ugly. So when I read about the murder of UnitedHealthcare (UHC) CEO Brian Thompson, I was saddened; however, I was not surprised.
I have experienced people’s anger and confusion toward their insurance firsthand, and I understand where that anger comes from. I also understand how confusing insurance policies can be: before I started working in billing, I had no idea what a deductible was, or a coinsurance, or HMO, or even Medicare Advantage. This system is so confusing that it seems almost intentionally complex, designed for people to fail to use it; plenty of people online, including in the Tangle comments section, blame insurance companies for people dying due to denial of coverage for health care. Many seem to look at insurance companies as evil and their executives as malignant suits, sitting atop their ivory tower, laughing maniacally at the idea of letting people die for profit. With that caricature of Brian Thompson in mind, it is no surprise that many are supporting the shooter.
I also believe that the insurance system is an evil in our healthcare system. They put in policies to give themselves an excuse to deny coverage or request their claims payment back. In a few cases, I have seen inexcusable policies that strongly discourage providers from offering certain covered services, such as one insurance plan’s policy, which requires a nurse to be present for each and every home-care physical therapist visit, even if the patient is receiving no nursing care. I will avoid naming the company in case that has changed since it last came across my desk, but suffice it to say that that requirement provided far more cost than benefit.
