17 Stories Of People Being Denied Life-Saving Care By UnitedHealthcare That May Explain The Lack Of Empathy Being Shown On Social Media
While Brian Thompson's death is tragic, so is the overwhelming number of people who've been forced to suffer because of his insurance company.
mangostock | Shutterstock The shocking assassination of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson ignited a wave of social media-fueled rage against health insurers.
UnitedHealthcare (UHC), one of the largest private health insurers in the country, has the highest rate of denied claims, with far too many individuals being refused life-saving coverage. Thompson's death has become a reminder of this.
While his murder is undoubtedly difficult for his family and loved ones, the lack of empathy on social media is the unsurprising result of growing frustration and resentment toward America's failing healthcare and insurance systems.
Here are 17 stories of people denied life-saving care by UnitedHealthcare:
1. A woman was denied surgery days before it was scheduled
In a post to X, a woman named Yolanda shared her reaction to Thompson's murder. She explained that while she was not rejoicing over the incident, she was not overly sad either because of her experience with UHC.
"I was in the hospital finance office in tears (when I was supposed to be at the hospital doing pre-op stuff)," she wrote. "My mother was flying out to see me. My surgeon spent a day and a half pleading my case to [UHC] when she probably should have been taking care of her other patients."
"[UHC] is evil and wanted to inflict maximum torment, so they denied the claim (after having approved it through prior authorization)," Yolanda continued.
While Yolanda's surgery ended up proceeding as scheduled, UHC denied an anesthesiologist bill that she didn't have the energy to fight them on.
"I was unnecessarily stressed. My surgeon was unnecessarily stressed. My loved ones were unnecessarily stressed," she added. "And my experience is not unique."
2. A man struggled with his mental health because he was unable to afford medication under UHC
In a Reddit post, a man opened up the floor to anyone who had been harmed or denied coverage by UHC.
To start, he admitted that in 2021, he began a new job, and his insurance was owned by UHC. He'd been on Latuda, a medication that treats mental health conditions like schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, for two years under Blue Cross Blue Shield.
However, under UHC, his Latuda was denied. Even with GoodRx, a site that finds the lowest prices for prescription drugs, he had to pay $175 a month, which he couldn't afford. As a result, he had no choice but to stop taking his medication.
"My life fell apart. [I] became unemployed [and] had two hospitalizations," he admitted. "I now have permanent memory issues and spent my life savings."
Thankfully, Latuda has since become generic and he can now afford his needed medication. "As soon as I got back on it, I [found] stability," he wrote. "I’ve now been able to hold down a job for almost a year, but my cognitive function is lower. I now make half of my old salary before my episode."
3. A mom's child was denied coverage for an EpiPen
In a TikTok video, a mom named Jen shared that she and her family had UHC through her husband's employer. In 2020, she gave birth to her daughter and was shocked to see a charge from UHC to take her newborn daughter home.
Yet, that wasn't even the worst thing that happened to Jen because of the insurance company.
She explained that months down the line, her daughter started to eat solid foods, and Jen learned that her baby had a multitude of food allergies. She immediately filed a claim with UHC to get coverage so she could provide her baby with an EpiPen. Her claim was denied.
"UnitedHealthcare came to the decision that my infant child didn't need epinephrine for her doctor-confirmed food allergies," Jen said. "UHC denied my daughter life-saving medicine."
4. A patient was denied coverage for an ICU stay
"Gonna just chime in with the UHC stories: I remember when they denied coverage for my late husband's ICU stay. He was so poorly, he began hallucinating and no one prepared me for that kind of care at home solo," a woman named Lindsay revealed in an X post.
"They also denied my migraine meds unless I filled only nine of 24 pills," she added. "Filling nine cost $75 and not using UHC at all I could fill all 24 for $35."
5. A woman's mother was forced to suffer because of a denied claim
"As my mom died of cancer because her claims were denied and was gaslit for years that she must have 'valley fever,' doctors realized that we could’ve saved her years earlier," a woman named Breanna shared in another X post. "She died of lung cancer in 2008. We had $160,000 of debt left over. I was 10, my brothers [were] 3 and 8."
6. UHC used AI to deny elderly patients medically necessary coverage
According to CBS News, families of two now-deceased former beneficiaries of UHC filed a lawsuit in November 2023 alleging that the company knowingly used a faulty artificial intelligence algorithm to deny elderly patients coverage for extended care deemed necessary by their doctors.
The lawsuit alleged that UHC illegally denied "elderly patients care owed to them under Medicare Advantage Plans" by deploying an AI model known by the company to have a 90% error rate, overriding determinations made by the patient's physicians that the expenses were medically necessary.
"The elderly are prematurely kicked out of care facilities nationwide or forced to deplete family savings to continue receiving necessary medical care, all because [UHS's] AI model 'disagrees' with their real live doctors' determinations," the lawsuit stated.
7. Necessary medical equipment needed was deemed 'unnecessary'
"UHC denied coverage for my prosthetic leg because it was not 'medically necessary' [three times] and it’s only because I work for a powerful institution that it ultimately got covered," a woman named Rebecca wrote in an X post. "They denied my claim for a hospital stay at 30 [weeks] pregnant when it seemed like my baby might die."
8. A woman's friend was forced to suffer from a cancer diagnosis
"Remembering when my friend needed a preventative mastectomy because the breast cancer was predicted to spread but UHC denied coverage," she wrote in a post to X. "So she had to wait for the cancer to spread and undergo more therapy to get the mastectomy anyway."
"I’m happy to report she’s cancer-free," the woman shared, "but it did cost, like, a [expletive] lifetime of debt, despite a joint income household. It shouldn’t have to be this way."
9. A woman was denied anesthesia for a colonoscopy
“I don't think that anyone deserves to be unalived based on where they work,” she began her video. “On the other hand, I do empathize with those who have lost their loved ones and quality of life based off of an insurance company denying and or delaying coverage.”
The woman shared that she joined UHC earlier this year and has had the same primary care physician for the last 15 years. Every year, she goes in for her annual exam, but after joining UCH, she was told that her pap smear would no longer be covered.
"Then, the icing on the cake is earlier this year I had a colonoscopy and UnitedHealthcare denied me anesthesia," she recounted. "I had to pay out of pocket."
10. A woman was told she wouldn't be covered for an epidural during labor
"UHC denied my claim for an epidural and told me it was my responsibility to make sure the anesthesiologist was in-network even though the hospital and my doctor were in-network," a woman wrote on X. "I asked, [if] should I be requesting credentials too? They said yes."
11. A man was refused coverage and subsequent care for a serious diagnosis
In a post to X, the man named Jake shared that UHC denied him coverage and care for his diagnosis of Type 1 diabetes because the company deemed it a "preexisting condition," even though he'd just been diagnosed.
"I should have known I had it before I was diagnosed, per UHC," he wrote.
12. UHC denied coverage for a necessary treatment for 'no apparent reason'
"In 2019, UHC denied coverage of turbinate removal on my septoplasty (to correct my breathing) for no apparent reason," an X user wrote. "They were covering the rest of it but refused to cover that one part of the procedure. I argued with them on the phone & so did the surgeon; they didn't budge."
13. A patient was left with an extremely expensive medical bill after UHC suddenly denied their coverage
"Hey, UHC explain denying coverage for heart surgery for a mid-20-year-old with Tetralogy of Fallot," they demanded in an X post. "I'm supposed to have this operation tomorrow and now you’re trying to leave me with a $450,000 bill? Do y’all think this is elective? This is my third operation."
14. A woman's mother was denied dialysis
Responding to Thompson's death, a woman named Mia shared on TikTok the story of when the healthcare giant tried to deny coverage for her mother's emergency dialysis after her kidneys failed
Mia's mother was supposed to be transferred to a local dialysis center for treatment, but when they called the insurance company, they were shocked by their response.
"They're like, 'No, she's at the wrong doctor. We want her at this different center 30 minutes away from your house that isn't affiliated with her doctors. And by the way, we want her to get dialysis three times a week instead of two,'" Mia recalled. "The insurance company wanted my mother to go away from her medical team."
Mia continued, saying at the time, her mother was too weak to drive that far. She and her family spent months fighting with UHC for something that is supposed to be federally mandated care.
"I mean, we're going through so much," she added. "My mother is incredibly ill, incredibly frail, and we're fighting with the insurance company over her dialysis to keep her alive."
15. A patient was denied coverage for cancer screenings
"UHC denied my cancer screenings with a known family history of that type of cancer," a person wrote on X, responding to a user who insisted that some insurance claims should be denied.
"I now have lumps and I still don't think they're going to pay," they continued. "They also denied my hernia surgery and then denied my painkiller for a hernia that has my abdominal pain higher than broken bones."
16. An individual was told they needed to provide 'evidence' for a routine medical visit
"My health insurance (UHC) denied coverage for a normal annual OBGYN visit lab test stating it was an 'unproven procedure' and I would need to submit SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE that it is considered safe and effective for my 'condition' of which I have none," she wrote in a post to X.
17. A woman was denied coverage for both her chemotherapy and radiation
A woman named Lisa Michelle explained in a TikTok that she has invasive doctoral carcinoma stage 1b of the right breast, and the cancer has made its way into her sentinel node.
She previously had a double mastectomy and her lymph nodes removed, but UHC refused to cover the cost of both her chemo and radiation, which were proposed by her oncology team.
"Interestingly enough, if you Google UnitedHealthcare, cancer, and denial, there are a multitude of articles and references to UnitedHealthcare's denial of cancer treatment for cancer patients," she said.
Even her doctors said that "this is normal," and they "constantly" appeal insurance denials.
“What a terrifying notion that this is the normal,” she concluded. “Potentially time-sensitive cases are having to wait and get their treatment pushed back further and further because their insurance companies don't want to pay for them to possibly survive.”
Nia Tipton is a staff writer with a bachelor’s degree in creative writing and journalism who covers news and lifestyle topics that focus on psychology, relationships, and the human experience.