There is not a word in the dictionary strong enough to express my current feelings towards United Healthcare. Loathe? Abhor? Despise with the burning heat of a thousand suns? Nope, all are far too kind for my asstastic student health insurance. We used to have fairly crappy health insurance through another provider, but at least I could get basic coverage. Then we switched in July to United, and it has made my life hell. We recently got to fill out a survey on our thoughts on United Healthcare. It asked me to rank everything on a scale of 1 to 10, 1 being least satisfied and 10 being most satisfied. I left the entire survey blank and in the comments section said that the scale would need to go into negative numbers to express my thoughts, and then proceeded to write twelve (12) paragraphs as to why United Healthcare sucks so goddamn much.
Nevermind all the things they won't pay for. Let's forget that they still refuse to pay for the MRI I had a few months ago because the neurologist thought a few of my symptoms could be caused by a brain tumor and they wanted to check that out. Brain tumor, schmain tumor. Why should I expect my healthcare to pay for that? Nah, I'll cover that $5,000+ out of pocket, my pleasure. Let's ignore that they declined to pay for my routine OB/GYN appointment. Pap smear, schmap smear. No, let's focus on why I am lunatic-level raving mad at them right now.
Several weeks ago, I started physical therapy for a problem that's been going on for quite awhile (my whole life, apparently). I had been seen by student health for a year and a half, and after poking and proding and making me feel like a freak show, they finally shrugged their shoulders, gave up, and gave me the golden ticket referral to see a doctor with actual (gasp) specialization in the hospital. So, I called to make my appointment, waited the 3 months, and saw the doctor. She looked over my history, poked around a bit, and recommended physical therapy, with one specific physical therapist at the hospital, and wrote out the referral.
I called the Physical Therapy and Rehabilitation Medicine department and was (of course) told that said specific physical therapist was not currently taking new patients, and I would have to call back in a month and try again. Fine. Call back in a month, weasel my way into an appointment (there may have been some fake sobbing over the phone to get said appointment), go BACK to the referring doctor to get a new referral because original referral was over 30 days old and hence totally void. I go to the first appointment and discover that what I thought was a totally separate issue is actually all connected -- remember how I hurt my back and was stuck on the floor for a week? All connected to a hip problem I had since birth, that should have been fixed with surgery (but obviously was not) and now means I'll need years of PT. Awesome.
Anyway, when I go back for my 2nd physical therapy appointment, I find out that my insurance requires not just the referral from the doctor, but also a referral from student health. Student health referring me to the doctor who referred me to physical therapy was obviously not enough. I'll spare the drawn out details, but it involved 2 weeks of my time, begging, pleading, and maybe some real sobbing over the phone and in person to finally get some doctor to get sick of me showing up twice a day every day, and just write me the damn referral. Ah-ha, I thought -- victory is mine!
Then, I come to find out that asstastic insurance will pay for 6 weeks of physical therapy, 2x per week. While that's great if you just had knee surgery, my particular problem has absolutely no benefit (and actually, more potential harm) to going to multiple sessions per week. What I need is to go once a week for a longer period of time. But, of course, insurance will not pay for twelve total sessions. No, they will only pay for 2x/week for 6 weeks. Nevermind that I kept insisting that (6 sessions) x (2 per week) = 12 sessions, and (12 sessions) x (1 per week) = 12 sessions. Nope, I was using that fuzzy math that makes no sense, and had to petition.
Fine, petition sent. After several hours spent on the phone with the Student Health Insurance Office, I get word that United isn't budging. I ask about my other options -- how long do I have to wait before going back to physical therapy, should the problem persist (which it obviously will, as I am 5 weeks into my 6 allotted weeks, and we have come nowhere near to even starting to fix said problem). I am told that this is it for the physical therapy, unless I have surgery, in which case the health insurance will pay for 80% of the surgery and 6 more weeks of physical therapy.
Wait. HOLD UP. What was that? In order to get them to pay for more physical therapy, I need to have SURGERY first? Does anyone else find this completely counterproductive? I could have 6 more physical therapy sessions, which mind you does not them anymore than the person going 2x's per week since I am only going once, or instead, I can have SURGERY? Do they not realize that option #2 is OBSCENELY more expensive? Because we're not talking about some laproscopic on-your-way-in-two-hours type surgery. Oh no, this would be major not-leaving-the-hospital-for-a-week variety surgery. And this is MORE COST PRODUCTIVE than allowing me the SAME NUMBER of physical therapy sessions as other patients, just spread out longer? WHAT THE FUCK?!?
This sounds exactly like the same logic that was cited when the new health insurance decided to not cover any birth control prescriptions at all. Look, I get it. I go to a religious university. Just because I'm a totally different religion does not mean that I don't respect the school's decision that birth control is the devil and they're not going to hand it out to college freshmen. But HELLO, I have the ultrasound which shows the BIG CYSTS in my ovaries that are WAITING TO BURST and you are telling me it is a better plan for me to let them burst and wind up in the ER because of it than to provide me with some birth control? It's not even going to function as birth control because right now, I couldn't even get pregnant if I wanted to! But nevermind that, it's a better option for me to wind up in the hospital than to pay the $100/year they would be paying for birth control.
AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH. Reason #7452 why I should have just gotten a REAL JOB instead of going to graduate school. My friends all have REAL INSURANCE that pays for REAL PROCEDURES when necessary. Screw this crap. Send the bill collection agencies after me for my MRI fees, I don't even care anymore.
Monday, May 05, 2008
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Oh man. That sucks beyond suckiness. I hate when people/corporations/anyone refuses to listen to logic. I really, really hope you can get it sorted out.
ReplyDelete*sending a mental hug your way* ... sounds like you need one.
I'm with you on United HealthCare. I have (sort of) the same problems with them. I had a suspicious mole on my back. Got an actual dermatologist to look at, who said, "Holy shit! That needs to be removed." (I kid you not) It, fortunately, turned out to just be a really freaky benign growth. However, since it was not cancerous, United Health Care wouldn't pay for it because it was a "cosmetic procedure." I said well, the mole was on my back and would have been covered by the most extravagant swimsuit... the derm thought it was cancerous. Yeah... still no budging. A pox on them.
ReplyDeleteWow. It seems like I'd get used to hearing insurance horror stories, but this is truly awful. I like to think that once you talk to someone and explain that a policy is dumb, they'll help you out. But this is just... Wow. I'm so sorry.
ReplyDeleteOh my gosh, I could have written this - both about being seen for over a year for an issue that turned out to be hip-related and needing physical therapy, and for United Healthcare issues. My husband is a grad student and has healthcare through them, and they charge us $60 copay for a chiropractic visit for which the chiropractor charges them $53. I've had my own issues with my insurance covering stuff through my school's program. It's just really awful and I'm sorry you're going through it too.
ReplyDeleteYeesh...this sounds awful! :-(
ReplyDeleteSorry to hear these issues with the Student Insurance...on the birth control issue: check the policy, birth control pills should be covered when there is a MEDICAL DIAGNOSIS attached to the prescription. The OB/GYN offices are used to making a case for this and can work it through the insurance company. Also, I don't know what your coverage is for PT, but PT is case managed at UHC so, if you did not have optimum outcomes, they can renew the weeks, a few at a time (unless your policy has a cap for visits). Just because PT is paid for in 6 week intervals, doesn't mean it can't be approved through case management for another 6 weeks (or in this case, your PT and physician can request 1x week for 12 weeks at a time). UHC can not dictate when PT is supposed to be administered for optimum outcomes, they can only dictate the PLAN submitted by the physician. There's a difference between the physician's PLAN and UHC's policy for coverage. I would look into that. Also, with the MRI, if you needed a referral for it, have the doctor who sent you for the test submit a retroactive notification for the test citing medical records, etc. and the reasons why the physician sent you. If that doesn't work, send an appeal to UHC as dictated by state mandates, etc. Have your school call the UHC student insurance office BROKER who will make sure that claim gets paid and under the circumstances in which you were sent. There are ways to get these things paid. Good luck. Student insurance policies are so limited in reimbursement..it's a shame.
ReplyDeleteI hate to burst your bubble, but I work in the corporate world and we have UnitedHealthcare . . . and it still sucks. It is by far the worst insurance I have ever had in my life. My favorite little gem from them is that they don't consider birth control a preventative drug, so it's not covered by a copay until you reach your deductible. The little twit in customer service explained it like this, "well, birth control is a choice, not a medical need. Our materinity coverage is great, though!" Nice, huh?
ReplyDeletebeing a disgruntled employee of uhc i can tell you it all sucks. The maternity coverage is not great.. unless you think great is paying over $3000 to have a baby. Being an employee you would think you would get some kind of break but no. they forced us to do their new high deductible plan a few years back .i have never worked in such a low morale, greedy company before. Everyone hates UHC..
ReplyDeleteSeriously. I have United Healthcare, and so far, my basic pre-natal care (only 3 months so far, meaning one ultrasound and one round of blood work) has cost me $3,000.
Deletesadly, you are not alone in this. United Healthcare sucks for thousands of people...I am in Colorado, where their profits have TRIPLED since 2004. Now they are making $50 pure profit every month from EVERY SINGLE member in the state. It's time to hold them accountable! Contact me at leah@progressivecoalition.org to get involved in a grassroots campaign in CO, or see www.healthcareforamericanow.com nationwide.
ReplyDeleteWe do NOT have to accept insurance companies' sick profits anymore--take action!
United Health care is very difficult to deal with when it comes to claims. Its sounds to me you have had a history of medical problems so its very important to read the insurance policy before signing up. Student Health insurance plans through Universities are notorious for these type of coverages. You should have never been on that type of plan.
ReplyDeleteIts very important to use a agent or broker to help you find the right plan. I am not defending UHC.
@ Anonymous: I have no choice in what health care I receive from my university -- it is paid for by my graduate program. We do not get to pick and choose what we get. It is given to us. We also do not get paid enough to buy our own insurance -- that is why we are given insurance through the program, prior health problems or not, we are stuck with it.
ReplyDeleteWow, the results that pop up when I googled "Problems with United Healthcare". I can sympathize- because of UHC I had to file bankruptcy because they covered $800 of a $35000+ hospital stay, and now I want to make them pay. If you want to get involved- let me know.
ReplyDeleteBeyond that, I'm very sorry to hear about all of the troubles you had, and I hope that your health insurance luck has turned around.
Take care :)
AKS
i have to add: I HATE them too!!!!!!!!!!!!! They're so corrupt, it's unbelievable. Plus they outsource everything to India, and all these people in India have access to our private info.
ReplyDeleteI hope the CEOs at UHC get what they deserve in one way or another. THEY ARE HORRIBLE!!
Ha!
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like typical Student Insurance to me.
Someone I know had to have a mole removed, by order of a dermatologist, and they have denied all related claims 3 times, each for different reasons. The final one was that they won't cover a malignant growth, BUT IT WAS! They said they were sorry and would re-process them again, but we'll see if they can find some other reason to try get out of paying. It has taken many hours of phone calls over months to get this far, and still no payments on that or an unrelated hospital visit that happened 3 months prior.
I feel like they don't want to cover preventative procedures because they know that your relationship with the company has an expiration date. Once you graduate, you become somebody else's problem. I guess they just hope you don't die before then!
I was in an auto accident and have United Health Care. The accident was not my fault. UHC now has this contract group called "Ingenix" (which should not be confused with ingenious. This is the ultimate in them passing the buck of culpability.
ReplyDeleteWhat is worse, is that I am a physician and "know" how the system works. I went to the emergency room and was diagnosed with a fractured sternum (I know, yikes, very painful!) Initially, I gave them my health insurance information.
Several weeks later I received a letter from UHC stating that I needed to call Ingenix to tell them about the accident or that all claims would be denied. (Way to threaten!) I did so and spoke with a person on the phone giving yet the same information to them as I gave to the other guy's insurance carrier, his contractor, my car insurance, my car insurance adjuster, my car insurance medical claims adjuster, the physician at the hospital, to UHC, and now to Ingenix.
Meanwhile, my claims on the web appeared initially as "being processed" to now "Patient responsible for full amount". I found this coding of the claim to be curious so I then called UHC. The first representative was rude and kept asking me which claim. I stated that it was the only claim that had been sent to Ingenix. She then asked me to hold, and put me back into the general cue again where I had to identify myself, and my plan ID...I was furious. She was not helping me, she was passing the buck because she didn't want to help me.
I then came to a representative who was able to find the claim and state definitively that she "knows nothing about it..." and that "I need to contact Ingenix because they are handling the claim."
Wait a second. "No, YOU are handling the claim and have changed the coding on the account to indicate that I am responsible for all payments. Someone at your facility did that, so you must be able to tell me what that means or why that was done, right?" "No" was the answer. Totally stupid. She transfers me to Ingenix where I get put on hold. The 19:00 witching CST witching hour is approaching, as I see those are the call times...and as soon as 19:00 rolls around, I briefly hear someone talking on the other end, and then become disconnected.
Do we need healthcare reform, or healthcare insurance reform? These companies are all losers. They will do anything they can to pass the buck, get out of paying claims and provide the worst customer service possible. Have you all heard about Wendall Potter expose of the insurance industry? He was formerly a Vice President with Cigna. Here is a link: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/profile.html
One more jab at UHC. I also have acid reflux and require Nexium for my medication. I have tried all other proton pump inhibitors, histamine blockers, etc. Nexium is the only one that seems to work with my body's physiology. UHC will not cover Nexium. In fact, they only cover the drug whose company with whom they are in bed that day. Nevertheless, I contacted UHC about a possible appeal or waiver. She receptionist on the phone (who sounded as though she was doing her nails and smacking a mouth full of gum) asked me if I had ever tried Tums...because they had worked for her. I informed her that I was a physician and it was improper for her to be handing out medical advice on the phone, and that I was so far beyond Tums that it was ridiculous! Of course I had tried Tums, you moron!!!!
I HATE UNITED HEALTHCARE!!!
Sorry to disappoint but I'm well employed and have UHC and it's the biggest pile of shit on the planet, they are nothing short of disappointing on everything.
ReplyDeleteIn addition to all the bull they've but me through their vision plan is the biggest joke. Until I blow throw my $1000 deductible they won't pay a cent for an eye exam (which they only cover every two years). Fuck UHC, I'm going Kaiser next cycle.
We have not choice to use UHC as that is what our employer buys. UHC is the worse insurance company ever and I don't know they can get by legally with what they do.
ReplyDeleteTheir prescription plan is terrible. It has three tiers. Tier one has the lowest co-pay, Tier two is a little more expensive and Tier three has the highest co-pay. Most of our drugs fall into Tier three. My husband’s blood pressure medicine is a Tier One drug. Wait - there is a catch - He is only allowed a 45 day supply of BLOOD PRESSURE MEDICINE every 90 days. They said the doctor could call and plea our case. My doctor had never heard of this but did call UHC. They would not reverse their decision. How ridiculous is that - allowing 45 days worth of blood pressure medicine every 90 days.
UHC should be investigated because what they are doing is illegal
Stumbled on your blog after hearing an NPR story about a couple who, after paying insurance premiums to UHC throughout a pregnancy, having them pre-approve every procedure, had their policy canceled retro-actively for no reason, except that apparently they didn't get permission to have twins. Here's their story, it's pretty amazing, how do these horrible companies stay in business?
ReplyDeletehttp://thestory.org/archive/the_story_876_Heather_And_Greg_Mroz.mp3
I wish I knew how crappy the company was before I got hired by a sister company of theirs. Figuring I'd be getting great care due to the fact that we are in the same sort of business (healthcare),I find that they find every excuse in the book as to not cover a person for medically necessary things as well as preventative medicine.
ReplyDeleteFor instance, I came down with pneumonia that was so serious that it took three round of antibiotics to cure me. In the meanwhile I had two x-rays to determine what I had was actually pneumonia (as it wasn't going away) and not a lung disease as well as some blood work. They didn't cover any of it because the doctor had cited that I had a preexisting condition (asthma) and that contributed to the pneumonia. ANYONE can contract pneumonia! Especially in a medical setting.
And to make things worse, we just got a notice that they cover the H1N1 shot. The participating locations aren't here in my state and they say to go to your doctor for it; however, when you do, it' may or may not be covered as we only have $300 towards preventative medicine.
United Healthcare sucks more than any insurance I've ever had!
I am also a student and United Healthcare is denying all of my claims because of an EIGHT day gap in coverage between when my old insurance expired and the arbitrary date they chose for the new policy to begin. They are the most corrupt organization I've ever encountered. I've filed complaints with my state department of insurance against them and my school for having them. I am so sorry to read all of these comments. I wish United Healtcare bankrupcy and for their CEO to have a stake driven through his heart. They are greedy, heartless bastards.
ReplyDeleteI am also a student and United Healthcare is denying all of my claims because of an EIGHT day gap in coverage between when my old insurance expired and the arbitrary date they chose for the new policy to begin. They are the most corrupt organization I've ever encountered. I've filed complaints with my state department of insurance against them and my school for having them. I am so sorry to read all of these comments. I wish United Healtcare bankrupcy and for their CEO to have a stake driven through his heart. They are greedy, heartless bastards.
ReplyDeleteI am a plan administrator and have been taught by UHC that you need to scream and yell and call Corporate to get anywhere. Staff is INTENTIONALLY untrained and does not know their own regs.
ReplyDeleteThier medical directors are doc's who couldn't cut it in private practice and get paid to serve as roadblocks to care.
Their Ingenix subsidary has been fined $300 MILLION by NY AG for fraudulant manipulation of medical cost data.
Their CEO's have been tried for Stock option back posting.
They are ranked as the worst health insurer by the AMA.
By the end of the month I hope to have the pleasure of firing their sorry asses.
I too have UHC through my employer and they have been jerking me around for 9 months now. In August 2009 went for annual physical which was supposed to b paid at 100%. Doctor's office submitted as sick visit so it was paid at 90% to start with but then re-filed it as an annual well visit with the correct diagnosis code. UHC reprocessed the claim and paid the part at 100% and showed the other part as being paid at 100% but never made any payment for it.
ReplyDeleteI called UHC customer service every month for 5 months. One rep was unbelievably incompetent but the others all seemed to know what they were doing and said they would add info to the claim and send it back through. Never worked. On last call I asked to speak to a supervisor and was told that wasn't possible. And, since it was a claims processing problem and they were just customer service it wouldn't do any good. I ask for one to call me anyway and, as you may guess I am still waiting for that call 3 months later.
Finally wound up filing an appeal explaining in detail by date what had happened and attached as exhibits copies of all the EOBs including the one showing that the visit had been processed as preventive care. When I got the ruling back UHC said that they had paid what they were supposed to because it was a sick visit. Never mind the EOB I attached showing that they paid it as preventive care!
So, I am now filing a second level review with the doctor's copy of what UHC processed that shows the claim tracking number where they processed it as preventive care.
My doctor told me that UHC is the worst insurer, that they have lots of problems with them paying, that they outsourced their claims. When we had our open enrollment I switched to CIGNA and so far they have been great. I remember them as being horrible in the 90's but they did a big study to see how to improve and it seems to have worked. Their EOBs are easy to follow and the claims people really seem to care about solving the problem.
Let me add my story to the UHC dung heap. I have migraines. I have had them since grammar school. I take a specific migraine medication to stave off the migraine cycle, but asstastic UHC will only give me four pills for my $60 co-payment... Yes, that's $15/pill, which I may take up to 3 in a 24 hour period for a really bad migraine. The medication is a brand and there will be no generic until 2012. There is a generic of another migraine med available, but I cannot take that one due to a bad reaction to it. I have been trying to get them to raise the quantity per co-payment from four pills to twenty pills for the 'brand' r/x for over a month. So far have been denied three times and I am at the "formal appeal" stage. I have had letters from my doctor sent to them. They have actually spoken to my Doctors office directly and still they deny my request. What is really, really puzzling is the fact that I take another monthly maintenance prescription for my migraines and that comes as a generic r/x so the co-payment is only $10. The paperwork from the pharmacy states that "your insurance saved you $385" so in this case I saved a lot. On the other hand, I found out from UHC that the cost of the four 'brand' pills for the $60 co-payment is actually $96, so for 20 of them the cost would be $480, of which I would pay $60, so $420. If my math is correct, $420-$385=$35... So they are going through all of this paperwork, denials, and CRAP for $35... They are OK with shelling out $385 for my other R/X, but they won't pony up an extra $35 for increasing the quantity of this other R/X that I desperately need to break the migraine cycle once it starts? I just do not get it. The economics do not make sense other than my Doctor told me that when an insurance company pays for a generic, they make more $ and when they pay for a brand, the drug company makes more $. So it appears that UHC just wants to shove every migraine sufferer into a 'one size fits all' generic r/x box and if you cannot take the generics you are screwed. UHC does not care about me, or you or any of the people that they insure, they just care about 'how can we pay out the least amount of money for the smallest amount of care for these dumb bastards?' They are the worst of the worst and I hope they all get cancer and have UHC insurance themselves.
ReplyDeleteUNited Healthcare is such a f**king scam PERIOD!!!! I dont even want to waste my breath but all I can say is these mother f$$kers are as fraudulent as they come. Stay the F**k away
ReplyDeleteI work for the company and let me tell you.. Every word is true.. They treat there employees just as bad.. The company I work for merged with United and it has been nothing but a nightmare.. As soon as I can find a new job I am gone...
ReplyDeleteMy spouse is an employee of UHC, my spouse usually puts in fifty hour weeks for a low salary. Our insurance deductable is so through the roof I am better off looking for a free clinic. Serious health and mental issues go untreated thanks to these deductables.
ReplyDeleteThe exec johnny-shi#-wads give themselves million $$ bonuses and the grunts get sqaut!
They suck. They stopped paying the 650.00 medical opt out credit, Since I have insurance through my wife we don't need their shitty insurance. Now, my paycheck is 650.00 less and that fat bastard Helmsley will get another 103 million dollar salary again this year. They talk about the billions they have in revenues and they can't pay their employees a paltry 650.00?
ReplyDeleteI too feel raped by UHC. I don't know how they can get away with this scam...check this out:
ReplyDeleteIn Miami Florida, you can get an MRI practically anywhere for between $300-$500 with no insurance of any kind. I've already met my out of pocket deductible and qualify for them to pay 80% of my cost (so far so good). Here's where it becomes a scam. The market rate for an MRI is $300-$500, but if I want to use my UHC coverage, the price is based on the NEGOTIATED RATE of $1800, of which I get to pay 20% (or $360). WTF!!!! Really!!! How is this a benefit?
How is this legal? The "Negotiated Rate" is artificially higher than the going market rate! What is the point of having a "negotiated rate" that is 5x higher?
I can't stand UHC, need to explore other options ASAP!
im a physical therapist who has constant nightmares about how hard it is to deal with United health care. besides the fact that they pay me close to a third of what the other insurances pay, i always have to be on the phone dealing with all the mistakes and barriers that they put in place so that they dont have to pay me. i am not alone. I totally abhor united and i would love for them to finally get convicted of fraud and terminate immediately.
ReplyDeleteI HATE HATE HATE UHC!!
ReplyDeleteMean spirited SOB"S
Oh but they have the dumbest (RNs?) people call you as part of their touchy feely feel good PR BS.
I'll talk to an RN at the Dr's office thank you. How about hiring people to help you through the claim process. Absolute Shit Heads!
My son is a graduate school seminarian in Iowa. After getting married, he signed his new wife up for the school health insurance (UnitedHealthcare). Now the plan brochure states, "The pre-existing exclusionary period will be reduced by the total number of months that the insured provides documentation of continuous coverage under a prior health insurance policy..." The pre-existing condition exclusion is the usual 12 months. Now, considering that the new wife had a couple of years continuous health insurance coverage at the college she graduated from about 30 days prior to going on the new policy, you would think that everything would be covered.
ReplyDeleteBut no, not with UnitedHealthcare. They cashed her premium check for $3,225 in record time. However, once she took ill (to the tune of over $200,000) they happily discovered that it was all due to a pre-existing condition. And, despite the plan language in the brochure, they are denying every claim.
These people are the worst kind of bottom feeders.
To be avoided at all costs.
This explains the high CEO bonuses. They just refuse to pay claims, thus leading to higher profits.
haha I just googled "united healthcare sucks" and found this page. I'm currently pregnant and on two different asthma medications, one 1x/day and one 2x/day. I was prescribed both meds by an asthma specialist after two asthma attacks in march that left me unable to go to work for over a month. if I get that sick again, my baby can die or have brain damage. I'm terrified. my office switched to United August 1 and so far I have already been on the phone with them multiple times over their requirement that I submit a referral for my midwife (never mind that an OBGYN would ultimately cost about three times as much as what my midwife is charging) and the fact that United has decided I only need my 2x/day asthma med 1x/day. my INSURANCE COMPANY has decided, contrary to the prescription WRITTEN BY MY DOCTOR WHO IS AN ASTHMA SPECIALIST, that I only need an asthma medicine while pregnant once a day. What the fucking fuck. If I have an asthma attack right now my baby can die, and/or so can I. I have to appeal the decision by snail mail and they told me in the meantime I can pay out of pocket for the med, which is $70 for a 15 day supply. I cannot believe we pay for this shit.
ReplyDeleteThey fucked me too! I created unitedhealthcarecomplaints.com! The site is OPEN for anyone to register and add their story!
ReplyDeleteMy full story is here:
unitedhealthcarecomplaints.com/2011/10/full-story-8-months-against-united-healthcare/
they are truly the worst............conflicting information....rude uninformed personnel......I'm dropping them as soon as I find an alernative.
ReplyDeleteLet me tell you first, I am sorry for your troubles. I used to work for UHC for over two decades and no longer am there. I will say things are very, very ugly now but cannot tell you how or why, but it isn't pretty. So I have made it my life's mission to go to school to become a paralegal so that I can help fight for the people against big bastards such as these because I know their dirty little ways.
ReplyDeleteUnited Healthcare has decided to let my wife go ,
ReplyDeleteA Very Good Doc requested my wife get an MRI. United Health Care denied the MRI.
Soooooooooooo I will take her to the hospital every day for her back pain.
United Health Care is loaded with death squads !!!
This is Obama care at its finest !!!
You pay into medicare all your life for WHAT !!!!!!!!!
The guy is right Fuck United Health Care !!!!
I work for UHC now in CA. and I have to tell ya I'm looking to get out as soon as soon as I can, I HATE UHC and all their unethical bureaucracies!!! Our health benefits are some of the worse, and their profits are some of the highest!!!I have had Blue Cross , Aetna and Cigna and I loved all of them, hate UHC w/ a passion too!!!!!
ReplyDeleteJanet Mckay of united health care is a bully bitch. I hope she gets fired!!!!!!!
ReplyDeleteUnited Healthcare allows their employee's to be bullied and humiliated. Even if you report anything they do NOTHING, they do not give a shit about their employees so do you think they give a shit about the people they insure? Hell NO they don't. They only care about making as much money as they can. UHC is a piece of SHIT company and management SUCKS. BIG FAT BLOOD SUCKERS.
ReplyDeleteWow I'm glad to see I'm not alone in hating this company! I had emergency gall bladder surgery and they still won't pay. I'm going to keep fighting as I have a $30000 hospital bill. For craps sake the Dr said I would have died from the infection if they hadn't removed it.
DeleteIf United Healthcare did not screw you at every chance, how could they every pay their CEO $48,000,000 a year? Okay, that is over 6 times the average for their industry and you probably think that you need your kidneys or lungs or something more than he needs a bigger yacht but apparently you would be wrong.
ReplyDeleteCome on karma, give Mr. Hemsley what he really deserves. Let him know what it is like to need medical care that he can't have.
http://www.forbes.com/lists/2012/12/ceo-compensation-12_Stephen-J-Hemsley_NBHE.html
John Eaton
ReplyDeleteI was told by united that my 5 year old son not being able talk was normal an would not
Pay the speech pathogist bill of 200.00 a week. United Healt Care said this was normal an he was healthy an no coverage was needed. United Heath care is conducting a large PONZIE sceam .....how can they get away with this????
John, as an ex UHC employee, UHC has nurses (RN's) that work directly for the company and review the medical necessity by information submitted and then make their own determinations. I give you the advice to appeal, appeal, appeal and raise some noise but be sure your primary care doctor gives you all the fire power (notes & information) so you can re-submit for the needs of your son and also call the benefits line to see if your policy covers speech therapy (but I will tell you most of them do cover this). I wish you the best from these blood suckers.
DeleteYEs, UCH has taken a trun for worse once pacificareHMO bought them out a few yrs ago. In fact they were sued by the federal gov for not reimbursing people back $$ in a timely manner, or if at all. ive noticed UHC has changed their EOB statements-the stateiment mailed to the patient that states all visits and payments..Explaination of Benifits. They have changed it so much to where the PATIENT CANT understand it without spending a good hour with a pen and highligheter to make sure THEY are correct and not screwing the patient- ive been screwed over 4 times in a 1-2 year time frame, and takes atleast 6 months to getthem to uNDUE their msitake, and it took me staying ontop of them. Clling them 3xa month wtiha different rep each time; dah.. they do that on purpose hoping the pateint will just give up. No you owe me fucking money ( when i go to an out of net work MD).Ive bee waiting 6 months now to get the money back owed to me. i had to EXPLAIN THEIR EOB mistake to THEM-the UHC personal over and over; i ahd to tell them their mistake and it took them a while to get it. An EOB use to be like 2 pages wtihthe facts, now tehy are like 7 pages wtihalot of extra confusing spread out crap that makes it intentionally hard for someone to understand, and i use to work MD offices so i feelsorry f or those who dont get EOBs, like the elderly. They make it so youant take to thesame rep on purpsoe so ou issue withthem never gets resolved .youa re asloways startign over wtih each call tocheck on the status of their maistake and when will youget the money THEY owe ME. And when pacificare bought out UHC: alot of MD s dropped UHC bc UHC decreased what they were reimbursing these pretty good MDs. I complained to UHC, and they said " wouldnt you rather have 50 MDS you can go to in- network.?" i said "no, ild rather have 5 good MDs in-network than 50 crappy MDs in network",. unfortunaltey, the GOOD MDs do ot take UHC ( several other insurances) but they use to, so just know the in net work ones are average ifthat MDs. you are ot getting top care-well it is rare to find this. But thank those MDs who still take UHC! Yes, the MD reimbursement being decreased, and EOB statemnts ow extemely difficut to follow, it is theur way of staying a flot a pretty nice ship! As a 42 y.o. female who once was in the medical world so i also know how insurance companies work, Put UCH right up there with the tabacco industry as they truely care about money.. money ..money. it is an insurance company, they DONT CARE ABOUT YOU. they dont know you. they are not ill. So stay on top of them and your care, even if time and effort, and work on healing attitude. UCH SUCKS in many ways!!!! and they know waht they are doing,-their terms and conditions, they are not stupid. They will play the patient and try to get over as much as possible. ild be embarassed to work for them.
ReplyDeleteI've been fighting with United healthcare for almost a year to cover times I went to the chiropractor. And heaven forbid I contracted Diverticulitis back in October - Now the NEW story they are saying is that "they will not pay any claims until the doctor I got an HIV test from 6 months ago fills out the form stating that my HIV test was not resulted from a PRE EXISTING CONDITION???" THEY WONDER WHY PEOPLE WALK INTO PUBLIC PLACES AND START SHOOTING!
ReplyDeleteGod Bless all of you!!! As the husband of the employee of a UHC employee, I can tell you that the rank and file employees and their families actually have it as bad, if not worse than regular coverage folks. United can screw us by falling under a "self insured" umbrella, which is just some legal mumbo jumbo for we don't need to cover shit if you or yours works for us! In addition to that, I'm disabled and also have Medicare, which I thought would pick up 80% of my medical bills. Boy, was I surprised to learn that since United has more than 100 employees, they are still my primary insurer so Medicare is only responsible for 20%! This has nothing to do with Obamacare...These GREEDY BASTARDS were here before him and they'll still be raking it in long after the next man moves into the house on Pennsylvania Avenue.
ReplyDeletePlease note, to avoid going to court and want arbitration UNITED HEALTH CARE uses an outside group of lawyers that submit FRAUDULANT papers to the courts (ALL with their blessing) and including apparently the judge. They took an employees old signature (early 2000's), added it to new documents (last years date),removed wording they did not want seen by the courts, yet these false documents were allowed by the judge and approved. But their rules did NOT change according to the employee website which goes to show the true length of lies United will stoop to. I want people to know the truth about the falsities they will go to. Oh by the way people most of your claims are paid automatically by the system (no human intervention, or in India)!!! They also allow this with accounting. So if you wonder why your claims are so fucked up, wonder no more.
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ReplyDeleteYup. They screwed me over after my gastro doc wanted to do a scope concerned I had Chron's, then when it came time to pay they denied the claim because they claimed my doc's office has improperly filed the paperwork. A YEAR later, I got a call from one of the hospital's billing pit bulls saying they had been fighting with UHC for a year because they filed everything exactly correctly and UHC still denied the claim. This was a professional medical billing gal telling me she had been in the business for 25 years and said that she recommended I do whatever it took to get away from UHC, such was the horrible things she had seen in the last few years. She was so exasperated with this case that she personally took it on to fight them. In the end, the hospital ended up never getting paid. For my trouble, I paid $2500 out of pocket, even after I had called UHC and was assured the procedure would be covered. The reason they didn't cover the procedure? I'm not 62, so it's not preventitive. So here's your reasoning: I might actually be sick, so UHC won't pay. If I was 62 and not sick, they'd pay. I really hope someone sues them in a big high profile case.
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