Doctor Receives Letter From UnitedHealthcare Denying A Patient's $12 Allergy Injection — 'How Do Insurance Companies Get Away With This?'
People are angry and rightfully so.
iona didishvili | Shutterstock The American healthcare and insurance systems are undeniably flawed. Following the assassination of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO Brian Thompson, conversations about this issue are more widespread than ever.
Patients and medical professionals alike are understandably dissatisfied with the current systems. One doctor on TikTok recalled a bizarre yet telling interaction he had with UnitedHealthcare earlier this year.
The doctor claimed that UnitedHealth refused to cover a patient’s $12 allergy injection.
Dr. Zachary Rubin, a pediatric allergist, clinical immunologist, and content creator, shared his story on TikTok. He admitted he had to laugh through the outrageousness; otherwise, his "blood would be boiling."
According to Rubin, he received a letter from UnitedHealth, the insurance company one of his patients is supposed to be covered by.
“[The letter] talked about how I had built $12 in change for a patient’s allergy injection,” he said. “They had done an audit and said that they weren’t going to cover that bill of $12 in change.”
Rubin was surprised at the timing of the letter which was dated September 2024. The patient received the allergy injection in 2021. Furthermore, UnitedHealthcare typically covers allergy shots or subcutaneous immunotherapy when it is prescribed by a healthcare provider and medically necessary.
“I am a doctor, and I have no idea why they’re able to deny this,” he concluded. “This is how confusing healthcare is, even for doctors.
The doctor is far from the only person who has experienced issues with UnitedHealthcare.
Others online shared their own horror stories regarding the insurance company that covers over 49 million Americans.
“Biller here, [UnitedHealthcare] is the WORST," one TikTok user commented. "There is no oversight on how insurance plans run their coverages. We are required to submit within 90 days, but they can claw back years later. It's infuriating."
“I worked in insurance billing for a big hospital, and I’ve been seeing a lot of this recently with [UnitedHealthcare]. They are absolutely pulling a fast one,” another commenter wrote.
UnitedHealthcare has faced criticism in the past for refusing necessary care.
UnitedHealthcare has previously faced backlash due to its unfair treatment of patients and in July, a protest formed in front of the headquarters of the technology company Change Healthcare, a UnitedHealth Group Inc. subsidiary.
Demonstrators accused the company's insurance arm of a "systemic practice of refusing to approve care through prior authorization denials or pay for care through claim denials," according to protest organizers the People's Action Institute.
Roughly 30,000 seniors in Minnesota were left in the dark about whether or not they would be able to continue seeing their primary physicians after being caught up in a contract dispute between UnitedHealthcare and HealthPartners.
Americans do not feel protected by their health insurance companies.
Some people believe that the deadly shooting of Thompson should be a wake-up call for UnitedHealthcare and other health insurance officials. People are clearly unhappy with their health insurance companies, which repeatedly fail to cover their potentially lifesaving medical care.
Every day Americans fight tooth and nail to get the coverage they need for themselves and their loved ones, all while the CEOs of insurance companies make millions by denying them the essential treatment they need.
It is well past time we start holding insurance companies accountable to get the care we deserve.
Megan Quinn is a writer at YourTango who covers entertainment and news, self, love, and relationships.