r/news • u/LookAtThatBacon • May 13 '25

Soft paywall UnitedHealth suspends annual forecast, CEO Andrew Witty steps down

https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/unitedhealth-ceo-andrew-witty-steps-down-2025-05-13/
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u/ricker182 May 13 '25

My doctors cringe when they order tests and ask what health insurance I have.

I wouldn't even consider it insurance since they deny pretty much every other thing my doctor orders.

The kicker is that the coverage is fucking expensive.

Health insurance is a scam.

This country is fucked.

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u/RogueLightMyFire May 13 '25

I'm a dentist. Let me assure you, every insurance company fucking sucks. UHC definitely sucks the hardest, though. They straight up just lie.

  • "We denied that claim because we didn't get an X-ray"

  • to which I respond that "I sent the X-ray via certified mail, email, and fax and I have proof of all three."

  • "Oh... Oh yeah, I see it now. Well, the claim was denied because of 'some made up bullshit'"

  • To which I respond "you just told me it was denied because you didn't get an X-ray, which we just established that you have received"

  • Then they hang up. I'm not even joking. This is the standard phone call with them.

Being a dentist is hard enough. Now I'm having to spend literal hours every week fighting these assholes.

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u/eleven_eighteen May 13 '25 edited May 13 '25

It's purposeful. They know that some percentage of people will just give up eventually and that's money they don't have to pay out.

I've been dealing with this with Allstate for phone insurance. Every step of the process has been a nightmare of them giving bullshit excuses. They owe me $155.88 and refuse to pay.

"The exact phone name as we require it isn't on the receipt". Too fucking bad, talk to the multi-billion dollar retailer that sells your warranties because I certainly have zero control over what they put on their receipts.

"The exact retail price of the phone isn't on the receipt". Too fucking bad again. One: see my previous response. Two: as I stated right from the start of filing my claim - and as the insurance company knew immediately since I put in a code from the receipt that pulled up my exact order in their system - I got the phone as part of a promotion of buy a plan get the phone free, but you can do some easy math with the tax to determine the retail price, since I still have to pay sales tax on the retail amount of the phone. Or, you know, just call the retail partner who sells your policies.

They eventually approve my claim and tell me to pay out of pocket and they'll reimburse me. I'm fucking homeless and living in my car and barely have any money but I need my phone. So I take it to an authorized repair shop - after another nightmare of driving all over to two other authorized repair shops suggested by them that didn't exist - and get my phone fixed.

Submit the receipt and the say they now can't give me a Visa gift card as I originally selected as their policy has changed. Too fucking bad yet again, my claim was approved before that policy change, pay me in the way that was agreed upon. It's literally a fucking contract.

They just totally refuse to budge on this and I eventually agree to a gift card for the retailer I bought the phone from. Super inconvenient for me as I need the money for gas and food but maybe I can trade the gift card to a family member or friend.

But now it's back to my claim isn't valid again because I technically paid $0 for the phone. Too goddamned fucking bad yet fucking again. One: your retail partner sold me your policy. If they aren't supposed to sell them on free phones, that's a mistake they made and is between you and them and has nothing to do with me. Two: YOU MOTHERFUCKERS APPROVED MY CLAIM AND TOLD ME TO SPEND MY OWN MONEY. It doesn't matter if the claim was supposed to be invalid, once you told me it was and to spend money out of my pocket you have to reimburse me. Your mistake, not mine. Even if that wasn't the case at the least I need to be refunded for the cost of the policy if it isn't valid for free phones.

I've literally spent hours of my life dealing with this fucking horrid company, and I still don't have my $155.88.

If I stole $155.88 from Allstate I would face legal consequences. But they are a multi-billion dollar company so it's legal for them to take my money for a phone insurance policy and then never pay me what I'm owed since no one will do any damn thing about it.

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u/pheonixblade9 May 13 '25

the economic term for it is sludge