Whistleblower Exposes Health Insurers' Most Evil Scheme 

I'm a nurse, and I met another nurse, who tried to convince me that taking care of the shareholders, was more important than taking care of the patient.

Healthcare in america is working exactly as designed. It just wasn't designed to help human beings.

Imagine my surprise and great comfort during my first pregnancy when I received a letter from my insurance company notifying me that I’d been approved to GIVE BIRTH to my child. I hadn’t realized that it was optional at that point.

My grandfather was a paraplegic. He had been in a wheelchair for over 40 years. Like most appliances they wear out. It was time for him to get a new wheelchair. The insurance company denied his request for a new wheelchair. When my mother called to find out why they told her that he had been in wheelchair long enough and didn't need one anymore. I'm not actually sure what steps my mother took, but after she was done with the insurance company, not only did he have a new wheelchair they also provided him with a wheelchair accessible van.

US health insurance companies need to face criminal charges for practicing medicine without a license and also pay out to the people who have been harmed for the delay.

I like how it's totally legal to be denied coverage that you pay for. Can you imagine if we did that with something like groceries? Like, oh, you have to pay upfront, and then the store gets to decide what groceries you actually get to take home with you. Also, there's no way of knowing beforehand what groceries you'll be allowed to keep until you try to leave with them.

Went through the same thing last month was denied coverage for a one night hospital stay after a major surgery that ended late in the afternoon, tubes placed during surgery and hanging out, catheter, bloody urine, five incisions, fever, pain, in post sedation state. Payment was denied due to it “being not medically necessary.” The doctor has ordered a minimum of one night stay. Called Blue Cross and explained that what they are doing is denying payment of care hoping we would go away. The doctor that reviewed and denied the claim was listed on the back of the denial letter. I plan to write the medical board regarding the denial. What doctor would endorse that denial. Very stressful at a vulnerable time when you are already weak. The stress of it all could lead to death. Criminal greed. Insurers need to be held accountable and the doctors that are endorsing the denials held accountable too.

I have worked for a pharmacy that provides high-dollar medication. I was provided with the approval guidelines of every insurer in the Northwest. Dr would send me the patient notes and charts so I could handle getting the medication initially authorized and then maintained because authorizations are only good for a defined time. If I knew an insurer was looking for a specific word and it wasn't there, I let the doctor know. This helped the process, but it is a circus and we are all clowns. They don't want to pay for anything. And medical necessity is apparently subjective.

My partner went to a doctor about a lump they had found. The doctor had them get a mammogram and testing which showed to be benign. Later we got a large bill for the mammogram even though the insurance site said the cost was fully covered. I called them to figure it out. Turns out that mammograms are only covered for regular screening, but because there was concern of an issue that wasnt covered. Insurance is a scam.

Ignoring everything, it's crazy that NON-MEDICAL PROFESSIONALS are deciding whether treatment is necessary and often OVERRIDING MEDICAL PROFESSIONAL'S JUDGEMENT.

I signed up for a Medicare advantage program after double and in some Triple checking that all my doctors were covered and my medications were too. Turns out 4 of my doctors and multiple medications were not covered. Not only was I unable to go to the doctor it cost me thousands of dollars to pay for medication. To top it off I battled 9 months to get out of the program. They changed what I had to do 3 times to be unenrolled. Even then they claimed twice they did not get my unenrollment fax. I used two different fax machines. The third time I faxed I used a government agency that one finally went through. It turns into a year of nightmare, and endangered my life.

The people you pay $1000/month to for health care have no legal duty to provide you with healthcare.

I’m a physician. I’ve been practicing since 1996. What has happened in the US over the past 15-20 years just disgusts me. What the insurance companies do is flat out fraud. Should be illegal. They look for the smallest loophole or tedious paperwork that a lot of people do not understand. This combined with nobody to speak to, and long hold times, drives people to just give up. I’m super surprised that more patients don’t go “postal” on insurance companies.

I have worked at many insurance companies around the country. These outsourced denials let the sociopaths in the board room sleep well on their giant piles of our cash. Medicare for All, today!

I don't want to live in this country anymore

Healthcare should not be a for-profit vertical. It should be regulated, controlled, and paid for by the government. Healthcare Insurance companies are the scourge of the earth.

Congress should pass a LAW. ANY medication, procedure, surgery, or device that YOUR DOCTOR says that YOU NEED, MUST BE COVERED BY YOUR INSURANCE! PERIOD.

The root of all of this is the fact that we’ve allowed insurance companies to use individuals who DO NOT HAVE medical degrees to override the doctors making the decisions about operations.

Prior authorization does not work for the patient. The accuracy of the video is spot on.

Years ago, I was hit by a car as a pedestrian. My injuries were serious, but because three insurance companies were fighting to pin the responsibility on each other, all they did was stitch my head up and send me home from the hospital. I didn’t even get one night in the hospital because none of the insurance companies would accept responsibility. Because of the lack of care, I will be affected by those injuries for the rest of my life. The other woman who was hit was on welfare, so MediCal (California Medicaid) kicked in immediately and she was well taken care of, but because I paid for medical insurance and it was deemed a ‘third party liability clause” issue, I laid there in pain for a month before I could see a doctor, and that doctor saw me pro bono outside of my medical insurance. By that time, it was too late to fix some of my injuries properly.

We need universal healthcare like EVERY OTHER developed nation on earth. Healthcare isn't a commodity, but an essential service. As long as our system is based on profits people will continue to suffer and die. We don't need "affordable" healthcare. We need healthcare period. Ironically universal healthcare is far less costly and provides better outcomes.

This is mass murder. We need a retroactive law which makes it illegal for insurance companies to commit medical malpractice. And the settlements need to include court costs.

The Rawling Group is another company that works with insurance companies to deny claims. I had to fight with them for over a year trying to get them to pay a claim, finally getting my states department of insurance involved, before they would pay it. Its inexcusable the stress they put us under and were unapologetic when we pointed out their error.

Healthcare and housing should not be commodities to be profited from

I worked in a doctor's office where EVERY YEAR one of a pair of identical twin girls would get deleted from their parents' insurance policy because *clearly* two kids couldn't have the same birthday.

UNIVERSAL healthcare NOW!! 😤😤😤😤

I just got switched to aetna ins. My meds were denied for a heart transplant. They were approved,then denied,then approved all within two weeks. The dates on the letters were a day apart. I was so frustrated with them i have a stack of letters sitting on my desk. I think they are trying to stop my heart. I started shaking more then ever. 😢

I submit prior authorizations all day. The health insurance companies do not care about the patient, they care about profits.

I kind of wish I could go to law school to constantly sue insurance companies.

They are so comically inept that they end up losing money sometimes. Which I'm sure just raises premiums. When my ex-wife was pregnant, she needed a specific medication every morning. Insurance refused to cover it. But they _would_ cover it if the ER administered it. So every morning we had to drive to the ER for meds. Eventually we had a standing order worked out, so that we didn't have to check in and wait 5 hours every time. They'd just run out and give her the shot in the lobby. Each ER visit cost like $10,000, and the IV version of the drug cost $1,500 a dose (the pill from the pharmacy was $80). For like 6 months, they paid for that _every day_. We appealed twice, there were MULTIPLE committee meetings where they decided that the current arrangement was fine. They are not only evil, but stupid and wasteful as well.

Prior authorization creates a lot of unneeded care. If you do an MRI and there’s something needed to be done, you don’t need to waste $ on 6 weeks of physical therapy and an xray that do nothing

My roommate used to work as an insurance analyser where she would comb through all the requests and see how much she can deny them. They had it down to a science

Healthcare should be nationalized. Medicare for All for just single payer for everything.

Nationalize health care now. Make congress and the rich use the same system the rest of us use. Standards would immediately rise.

I fell into a deep depression almost to the point of no return because of a denied claim. The Dr got prior authorization and all that before a surgery. A few months later I got a letter from the insurance company that they wouldn't pay. I was already struggling financially but this put me over the edge.

Feds (or someone) needs to hold these companies accountable

My wife died of cancer that could have been caught far sooner, and could have been treated far more effectively, if not for the insurance company denying and delaying treatment for horrifically specious excuses. She wasn't allowed to get the tests that would have caught it early, and had her treatment delayed multiple times, because of these sorts of garbage technicalities. From the time the cancer was caught to the time she died was 7 months. If her insurance had not denied the testing and treatment she needed, she could have lived years longer. Medical insurance companies in the US are literally killing people to keep their insanely high profit margins that only a tiny handful of people will benefit from.

Yup. My son has Type 1 diabetes. We have 3 different insurances, but one won't cover his insulin, one won't cover anything if they can't be the primary, and the third wouldn't admit him to the hospital until he either was unconscious or his glucose levels were uncontrolled in the ER for more than 12 hours. And after everything, and paying over $30k per year for insurance, his insulin is still over $700/month. It's $15 in Mexico, or free if you're on their universal healthcare system. Insurance is the biggest scam in the US, hands down.

I hear about this all the time from big, decades old insurance companies. Especially the big three. Im glad, even proud to be a part of a great, affordable health coverage company. No shareholders to placate as it is a non-profit. It was specifically designed for people or small businesses that get run around or denied by big insurance companies.

The current market/economy is unnecessarily tougher for boomers/senior citizens, I’m used to just buying and holding assets which doesn’t seem applicable to the current rollercoaster market plus inflation is catching up with my portfolio. I’m really worried about survival after retirement.

We live in a predatory system. This is just one of the corrupt entities that exercise abuses at the cost of the citizen...

I had to pull away for a moment after hearing that the insurance companies couldn't be found liable in ANY of this. Downright disgusting and brutally honest display of the American healthcare system.

I’ve been denied many medications but my son was recently denied a different medication for his adhd because there were so many shortages for the one he was currently prescribed. He went from honor roll to failing and it went on for almost a year! I tried to fight the denial but I got nowhere. He is actually still suffering from this issue.

Had a painful nerve related problem in my foot. Went to orthopedic, where we did an x ray to be sure it wasn't bone related. They recommended MRI to see where problem was. Cigna said "no" they said I needed to go back to the Dr. and get an injection. Huh? And where exactly would you put this injection without an MRI? I called Cigna myself and the conversation just went around in circled. I said, so, basically, you are denying me care. And I pay a premium for this. I then asked the Ortho how much the MRI was - $400. Ok, so why can't I just pay for it? Well, if you do that, and they find something wrong, they won't pay for the further care because I didn't get authorization for the MRI. Well, yes, because they won't give it. Needless to say, I never got the problem treated. Thank you Cigna . You can be sure that when time came for renewal it wasn't with them. Not that it matters., they are all rip off.

Health insurance is a multi-billion dollar business whose sole source of revenue is preventing their clients from receiving health care.

I worked in prior auth for 2 years and it has never made me hate healthcare more. I loathe and despise Cigna and the rest of those bastards to Hell and back. I pray for the downfall of the insurance industry starting with healthcare because all it is is elaborate money laundering with zero care for if patients breathe or not.

I am a physician and in 2018 I had 6 weeks of vertigo with blurred vision, nausea and vomiting.My BP kept shooting in over 200 systolic. My 3rd ED visit I could not stand up without falling, I was admitted after the ENT doc identified papilloma. The CT was normal but opening pressure was slightly elevated. I was hospitalized because of elevated BP that could not be stabilized in the ED. United healthcare denied payment to the hospital. I appealed and they still denied payment stating my condition is to be expected in a 60 some year old woman with hypertension. I called NYS dept over the health plans. I was told nothing they could do because I appealed and got a final denial decision from United Health Care. So that was it. No recourse. Imagine what our poor patients go through! This is ridiculous and criminal.

We have to call this, and prosecute for, Malpractice or Practicing Medicine Without a License.

I remember having to talk to my insurance company about a prior authorization I needed for a new medication. The lady on the phone told me that the prior auth was for my benefit, to make sure my doctor *really* wanted me on this medication. I said "isn't that what a prescription already is?" She did not have an answer for me, obviously 🙄

Legalized fraud, yo.

I was a medical assistant in charge of prior authorizations. And sometimes patients in need were denied medications they really needed. Like life or death meds. So I'd call the insurance companies and do them over the phone again. They'd lie and say it would take longer. But after talking to me and knowing the patient's backgrounds they'd feel bad and push it through. There was one time one of them laughed at me. This patient is diabetic, about to get his feet amputated. And this lady was laughing at me because I was fighting for my patient. I really wish she would of laughed in front of my face. So I could teach her a lesson or two. Some insurance companies are just evil! They are the biggest legal scammers!

I’ve been battling with the VA for 10 years for treatment of nerve impingement. I’m one of the ones who is now permanently disabled because they keep refusing to fix the problem even though it’s very fixable.

I've always held that the biggest issue with the American healthcare system is the insurance. There is absolutely no excuse for people who aren't doctors to deny care for something and someone that they know nothing about.

I have a story kinda like these. My granny was born with one arm. One day the housing association sent a letter which said that her house was gonna stop being paid for due to a problem with her doctor. So, she goes to the housing office and talks to the woman on the desk. The problem was that housing hadnt received a letter from the doctor to update her status. You know, just in case she'd grown her arm back in the past year. After about 20 minutes of going back and forth, my granny was told she MUST go to her doctors to get the letter sent, even though she was standing in front of the woman with only one arm. Some red tape can be dumb as hell. Id like to add (after reading one of the comments): This was about 10 years ago, making her, at the time ~ 74.

So what am I paying for if they don't have a duty to pay for care? It's a scam, a racket.

This is such a real problem! I’m a social worker at a hospital who has to send referrals to these insurance companies, and it’s disgusting what they are doing to patients with these prior authorizations. They claim that when they deny these auths that something isn’t medically necessary, but it’s really just to save them money. I cannot tell you how many of my patients needed to go to rehab facilities, just to gain their strength back, and were denied for something as simple as walking one foot to far from an expected distance for some who “actually qualifies for rehab” And don’t get me started on the doctors who deny and approve the auths. They are usually doctor who hasn’t practiced in 20+ years, with little to no knowledge of technical advances in modern medicine or prevention methods. Just terrible.

"We don't want to dip into our billions-sized wallet to fix problems because sometimes, rarely, we lose a few cents on fraud." Is what I feel prior authorization boils down to.

'Prior authorization' is what bankrupted me at age 25. I had an emergency cesarean, followed by a week stay in the hospital due to complications from the surgery. It wasn't pre-authorized to have this emergency while trying to push out a kid for 2 days. Now, I'm 38 and can't get my adhd meds without getting a prior authorization every 3 months from my doctor. It's DISGUSTING. I have to take time off work, losing $$, to keep my meds - they need to make sure my adhd hasn't magically been cured.

Insurance companies demanding physical therapy is what delayed the MRI for my herniated disc. During the delay I even had to make a hospital trip when the pinched nerves started causing urinary issues. Four years after spine surgery to fix my severely herniated disc, I have a strip of permanent numbness running down the back of my leg, including my heel and the outside edge of my foot. I have muscle weakness in that leg and my lower back due to the nerve damage. Yes, it could have been worse, but it didn't have to be this bad.

When I first heard of this, many years ago, I asked a prominent surgeon in the Canadian universal health service how it worked there. He said that he ordered whatever his patients needed and they got it. I think he was surprised by the question.

Private health insurance companies are in the business of making money not insuring healthcare to patients, it's capitalism 101.

It takes a special type of evil to exploit vulnerable and hurt people’s health for profit. Absolutely disgusting.

Healthcare seems to have gone from one extreme (over prescribing tests and/or care) to fear of their own shadow manifested by denial of care.

I went through a similar scenario with my insurance. I did over three months of physical therapy and atlas chiropractic due to immense shoulder pain. Finally, I got an MRI, but the insurance said it wasn't medically necessary because I hadn't done PT (which I had). So, I had to dispute the denial. It was pretty easy since I had been to PT, and the MRI showed a tear in my rotator cuff. I'm not sure how they could say it wasn't necessary after it conclusively found an issue that required multiple treatments to fix. Cases like this, where the insurer blatantly neglects their customers' health needs, should result in penalizing the insurer.

I went to my doctor when I broke a bone in my foot. He ordered a "boot," and sent me to the hospital to get it. They informed me that if I had come to the ER they could have fitted me, but since I went to my primary, my insurance wouldn't pay. I called the insurance company and asked them what I was supposed to do and they told me their approved provider was in another city, 2.5 hours away. I explained that I had a broken foot and asked them if they were going to drive me there and back, and they told me that I was _choosing_ not to get the boot because I wouldn't drive there with a broken foot. They didn't explain how I could use the accelerator and brake pedals without involving my foot, but it was still "my choice."

My brother in law had a cancer specific policy for his family. His son was diagnosed with a yolk sac tumor, aka cancer. The insurance company originally denied their claim because the Dr. didn't use the specific term "malignant" in the report. My Brother in law's family had to go back and have the Dr. rewrite the report using the specific terminology required by the insurance company. All this took time while my Nephew had cancer growing in his body. Luckily his story had a happy ending and he is cancer free, but these companies are predatory and evil.

I believe there is a federal law that states it is illegal to impersonate a physician.

Years ago when I was still working, my employer switched health insurers. When I went to settle a bill he told me he would no longer accept that insurer because a patient in his office was having a stroke and when he called for authorization for immediate hospitalization it was denied. Fortunately, he sent the patient to the hospital anyway and saved his life.

This is the story of my life, nothing so lost as amputation, but permanent impairments and prior-authorizations delaying care, ESPECIALLY with PAID insurance (On state healthcare now) caused me to lose an uncountable number of jobs. It now means I'm fully destitute and need to get disability to be able to survive anymore. Health Insurance destroyed my ability to work.

I’m a pharmacy tech and I’ve seen prior authorizations for the stupidest things, and sometimes patients have to get prior authorizations for medications they’ve been on for years already. I just wish more people knew that we hate insurance companies too, we want you to get your medications on time :(

This one feels way too familiar. My wife was dealing with excruciating pain, and the doctors insisted on PT. The therapist quickly came to the conclusion that it wasn't going to be effective because the pain was too high to be useful. Finally got a different doctor to prescribe an MRI, but insurance declined the preauthorization. We did it anyways, willing to pay out of pocket because it was so bad. It immediately found the problem and surgery was scheduled a few days later. I filed an unofficial appeal, but apparently a denied preauthorization doesn't automatically decline payment, and they paid, so the appeal was unable to proceed. I'm sure the diagnosis helped. And I know many people can't afford to risk the full retail price of an MRI like we were able to (and I'm not saying it wouldn't have hurt the budget).

Don’t even get me started for VA patients. the VA Prior Auth Department is just as bad. I worked for a psychiatric clinic and by what the VA had told us was that we HAVE to fax all the requested documents to them 30 days Before the Expiration of the existing Authorization for it to be renewed to continued care. I faxed it and it came with no response. After thirty days the patients next appointment was close so I called and they said they never got it. So I faxed again and labeled urgent with the patients next appointment. No response. Due to clinic policy which I disagree with, we have to postpone the appointment until the VA confirms the patient can be seen. We postponed it another month, then I called as we still got no response. They said THEY STILL DONT HAVE IT, I confirmed the number I faxed it to twice and said I wanted her to stay on the phone with me and CONFIRM if they receive it. Thankfully she said they confirmed but they need another 3 weeks for processing. So we had to postpone the patient another 4 weeks. Just to be sure. Well it’s been 4 weeks and they still haven’t gotten back to us. So I called again, they said it’s STILL processing and that it was an error in my end for not sending it 30 days before expiration. I reminded her it’s been 3 months since I originally faxed and then refaxed. She then suddenly changed saying it must be 30days before the patients LAST APPOINTMENT?! Which I immediately called out and she tried to gaslight me on the phone saying they never said 30 days before expiration. The entire system from top to bottom is a joke.

all medical decisions should be ONLY up to our doctors and ourselves, not non medical personnel or "doctors" that the Ins companies pay.

"Your health insurance company has no obligation to care for your health". How f*cking dystopian is that?

So a "healthcare system" is not required by law to care for your health? Our society is BROKEN.

I take, and have been taking for YEARS, 2 medications each month that, with insurance, could cost approximately $1200 each month. I’m retired and receive just over $2600\month. My husband’s work insurance and the pharmaceutical company’s largesse makes them affordable. A few months ago I received a letter from my insurance company that didn’t make any sense to me. I took it to my pharmacy and my doctor and they assured me that they would take care of it. Then the pharmacy told me coverage for one of the meds was rejected. I was closing in on the day I would be out of that med. Nothing was happening. The insurance simply would not approve the coverage because they need prior authorization. It took calling the state insurance regulatory agency to get the insurance company to pull their head from their nether regions.

I dealt with insurance and their prior authorization, and it almost killed me. I had to wait a year for a necessary surgery. It was so outrageous that my doctor closed her practice.

PLEASE NOTE: Always Appeal Denials of Private Health Insurers as the act of appealing places the insured in the category of a 'Highly Engaged Client' who, Insurer's have learned, is likely to continue fighting/appealing which can cause additional expenses, thus the 1st or 2nd appeal has a far more likely chances of success than the original submission.

As a person with severe illness, it's honestly discouraging that able-bodied people are surprised by this. You get denied for everything the first time. It doesn't matter what it is. It's just like absolutely everyone gets denied when they first apply for SSDI. I thought this video would be informative but it's the most entry level stuff

Working in healthcare for 20 years here and this assessment is spot on. Our system is a racket. Period.

We need to push for federal law on medical insurance companies to where they can be held liable for negligence when it comes to proper treatment that's been needed and is being denied!

Denial for a wheelchair for a double amputated individual wtf.

Clearly something needs to change. Whether through the judicial or legislative systems…

How are insurance companies allowed to do business like this?! How is this legal?! How long are Americans going to put up with this?! We need to scrap this whole corrupt and evil system!

Most shocking of this story is here is why the insurance company is medically necessary. They are getting in the way of health care.

To all those over age 65: Don't sign up for Medicare Advantage plans unless you like prior authorizations! You won't have Medicare anymore- you have insurance with an insurance company!

My mother was made to jump through hoops for a year to avoid an mri. Spent 30x the amount of the mri. Still did an mri. Caused more damage in the interim that lead to a more expensive surgery.

i was uninsured for awhile, sprained my ankle badly and needed an xray to make sure it wasnt broken. took them all of 2 mins to do that, and gave me crutches. no pain meds or a wrap or anything. just the xray and crutches and they wanted to charge almost $1,000. my friend had a weird episode where he passed out unexpectedly (as in not drinking or anything that would maybe cause it) so we called an ambulance. at first when he woke up, he refused to ride in it because he knew he’d be charged so much money. HE HAD PASSED OUT DUE TO AN UNKNOWN REASON AND INSTEAD OF BEING WORRIED ABOUT HIS HEALTH, HE WAS WORRIED ABOUT THE MONEY. we had to convince him to go and get checked out. insured or not, our system is beyond broken!!!!

This is why I am glad for my union backed health insurance. I had cancer, and it was handled properly. I think the primary problem, though, was just barely touched on, and is a severe problem in everything in the world today. Companies, no matter what their base industry is, are catering to stockholders first. Instead of providing the service they are ostensibly created to provide, they are extracting value for an essentially uninvolved third party. This is directly taking money out of the pockets of the people who need that service, and transferring it to "investors", who are expecting double digit percentage growth year over year.

I will never forget the postal worker in DC who was killed by his HMO. Someone mailed anthrax to politicians in the early 2000s (it was shortly after 9/11). The news got hold of the tape where the guy called the HMO to ask permission to go to the ER. The “nurse” stuck to the script & told him the insurance wouldn’t pay for an ER visit & she would get him the first appointment in the AM. This was AFTER he explained he’d been exposed to anthrax & was having trouble breathing. He died during the night. 😡. Imagine being so poor that you don’t seek medical treatment because your insurance won’t pay. “You’re poor, you have to die.” 😢

I have a SI joint problem that insurance will not approve surgery that has proven 87% cure/ relief from pain, despite MRIs, RFAs, multiple joint injections, physical therapy, acupuncture, TENs unit, topical therapy, you name I’ve done it. All this to be denied and told “just don’t walk up stairs or across uneven surfaces.” Live with it

All of this is quite common, and as Whistleblower Dr. Linda Peeno testified before Congress, medical reviewers get raises and promotions based on the dollar value and volume of claims they deny. In some cases, denials are a death sentence.

I became disabled as a result of this exact practice. They denied surgery I needed 3 times because the injury I had is called a "sports hernia" for some reason and according to them hernias are cosmetic surgery. For the record, a sports hernia is a torn tendon. In my case it was in my groin so I walked in it for 3 years while fighting the insurance people. To this day every step is excruciating.

I agree, my family members have had medications prescribed by our family physicians and the insurance company denied it because they claimed it was not needed!

It's insane how someone can possibly love this country

The 80% that just walk away and don't get treatment? That's why. That's the point. The entire business model of medical insurance is that you pay in and they never pay out. That's how they make their profits. That's their purpose.

I worked in the health insurance field for nearly a decade. From working phones, investigating cases, communicating between doctors offices, trying to resolve cases, and even creating health insurance plans alongside CEO and CFO and pitching it to employers and tribal leaders. Our for profit health insurance is absolutely hostile to the people wanting to receive service.

As someone who experienced medical malpractice at birth and multiple times after without justice, this is exactly what I’d expect from our healthcare system.

I’m in pharmacy school and work part time as a tech/intern, when I see medications being flagged for PA’s, I get physically sickened. One time, I had to explain to a patient during COVID that their insurance didn’t cover vaccinations through the pharmacy, they had to have it done by a doctor… It is hard to explain these things to patients who are at the height of their anxiety and stress. Due to the ridiculous nature of these policies, it provides the perfect situation for patients to assume we are lying to them. Which sends us into an endless cycle of frontline workers conveniently being subjected to just verbal punching bags for patients who are rightly upset (because you never physically see the faces behind these insurance companies).

I retired from decades of practice as a psychotherapist. Insurance companies put providers and patients through nothing less than bureaucratic torture on a daily basis. I am so glad to be out of it all.