Image by Kent Nishimura via Getty / Futurism
UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty made some eyebrow-raising remarks following the assassination of his colleague Brian Thompson.
On the day of Thompson’s murder, Witty addressed employees in a company-wide video in which he justified their practice of stamping out “unnecessary” health coverage.
“Our role is a critical role, and we make sure that care is safe, appropriate, and is delivered when people need it,” Thompson said in the internal virtual address, leaked by journalist Ken Klippenstein. “And we guard against the pressures that exist for unsafe care or for unnecessary care to be delivered in a way which makes the whole system too complex and ultimately unsustainable.”
“So we’re going to continue to make that case, and we’re going to continue to do the work we do,” he added.
As critics of the healthcare industry might argue, Witty’s comments are emblematic of insurers’ ruthless cost-saving policies that prevent patients from getting coverage for often crucial or life-saving procedures, leaving them with enormous medical bills.
An analysis by ValuePenguin suggests that UnitedHealthcare — a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group, which Thompson served as CEO of — denies a staggering 32 percent of claims. That’s twice the industry average, and more than any other insurer. The company even reportedly used an AI algorithm to automatically deny some of these claims.
On social media, Witty’s “unnecessary care” remarks struck a nerve amongst those who have seen themselves or loved ones struggle with UHC’s system.
“United wouldn’t approve my mother for the medicine her doctor said she needed until she first tried this other medicine,” tweeted Justin Whang, a popular YouTuber and streamer. “As a result, one day she went temporarily blind on the way home.”
Another user painfully recalled how her brain surgery was considered “unnecessary” because it was a “cosmetic” issue. “If I had to live with the condition any longer I [definitely] wouldn’t be here today,” she wrote.
But according to Witty, these kinds of grievances aren’t based in “reality.” Seriously. Taking aim at the company’s “vitriolic” critics, he launched into a rant about the negative atmosphere in the media and among the public.
“I encourage you to tune out that critical noise that we’re hearing right now,” Witty told employees. “It does not reflect reality. It is simply a sign of an era in which we live.”
That is an astoundingly tonedeaf thing to say in a country where medical debt is cited in over 66 percent of bankruptcies, according to a 2019 study. But is anyone surprised at this point?
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