Plastic Surgeon Explains Why UnitedHealthcare Is 'The Most Evil Company' In The United States'
“They’re killing people with these decisions.”
fast-stock | Shutterstock In the days since UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson’s murder, multiple different motives have been suggested. One doctor thinks he may have the answer.
A plastic surgeon stated that UnitedHealthcare was completely 'evil.'
Dr. David Graham is a plastic surgeon who practices in Rochester, New York. Dr. Graham has a strong social media presence, including on TikTok, where he recently shared his thoughts on UnitedHealthcare and Brian Thompson’s murder.
“I want to talk a little bit about UnitedHealthcare and, uh, why, you know, certain recent events may have happened against their CEO,” he began.
“So, in my opinion, to be honest, I think UnitedHealthcare is the most evil company in the United States right now,” he continued.
The plastic surgeon explained that his feelings about UnitedHealthcare became clear after the Affordable Care Act was passed.
“This goes back to, actually, the Affordable Care Act,” he stated. “When you look at the Affordable Care Act, one of the things that was done by the government to try and curb, uh, healthcare costs and kinda make health insurance costs go under control was something called the medical loss ratios.”
Dr. Graham helpfully explained what this was for people not familiar with the healthcare industry.
“The medical loss ratio dictated that insurance companies had to fight, had to spend 85% of, um, everything they collected, every premium they collected on patient care, and they could only keep 15%,” he said.
While this should have been a good setup that protected patients, it didn’t work out that way.
“Unfortunately for the government, you know, most, uh, most businesses out there, uh, their, um, their people are, are smarter than politicians, so they figured out a way to circumvent these rules, and UnitedHealthcare is actually one of the most egregious violators of this,” Dr. Graham said.
Dr. Graham revealed that UnitedHealthcare is more than just an insurance company.
“Most people know UnitedHealthcare as an insurer,” he said. “So, of course, they offer health insurance. But what people don’t also realize is they own a pharmacy benefit manager, which basically, it’s a company that buys drugs from the drug maker, marks it up, and then sells it to the insurance plan.”
He spelled it out for viewers: “So, they are the insurance plan, so they are making up a drug and selling it to themself.”
This would be bad enough on its own, but there was more.
“They also, um, perform, uh, revenue cycle management and services for hospitals,” he said. “So they’re the buying and selling agent at the same time.”
Dr. Graham explained that the company also pays itself even more by employing medical providers. This all comes back to the medical loss ratio.
“This 85% that they have to spend on patient care, all of a sudden they’re, they’re keeping 15% as the employer, but they’re paying themselves part of the 85%,” he said, using a graphic to demonstrate that this was happening multiple times over.
Dr. Graham went on to detail how all of this is actually supported by the government, either directly or indirectly. “That’s the most unconstitutional thing ever,” he said.
The ethicality of health insurance company practices doesn't justify violence, especially murder. However, something must be done.
Dr. Graham’s informative video proved that changes in the healthcare industry are necessary. Many thought these would come with the Affordable Care Act, but insurance companies are still finding loopholes.
Jonathan Borba | Pexels
According to NPR, Professor Miranda Yaver spoke with 1,300 American adults for a book she is writing. 36% of them had experienced a health insurance denial of coverage.
“So although, you know, I can’t condone — I don’t think anybody can condone a murder, I can see what his motivations are,” he said of Thompson’s killer. “I mean, when the government is sitting on its hands and not protecting its people … that’s one of its primary functions, so … what do you do?”
Mary-Faith Martinez is a writer with a bachelor’s degree in English and Journalism who covers news, psychology, lifestyle, and human interest topics.