United Health Drops Thousands of Doctors from Insurance Plans

'Significant changes and pressures in the healthcare environment" has caused thousands of doctors to be cut from insurance plans. I'm sure more cuts are to follow as this Obamacare disaster gets snowballing. Hard hit ... the elderly. Kill off the old folks, it's cheaper and better for the Obamacare system, right? BARF.

United Health Drops Thousands of Doctors from Insurance Plans

UnitedHealth Group dropped thousands of doctors from its networks in recent weeks, leaving many elderly patients unsure whether they need to switch plans to continue seeing their doctors, the Wall Street Journal reported on Friday.

The insurer said in October that underfunding of Medicare Advantage plans for the elderly could not be fully offset by the company's other healthcare business. The company also reported spending more healthcare premiums on medical claims in the third quarter, due mainly to government cuts to payments for Medicare Advantage services.

The Journal report said that doctors in at least 10 states were notified of being laid off the plans, some citing "significant changes and pressures in the healthcare environment." According to the notices, the terminations can be appealed within 30 days.

WTNH - Thousands of Doctors Fired by United Healthcare

Thousands of Doctors Fired from United Healthcare - FOX News

It's not just the people on Medicaid that are under United Healthcare. Lots of union workers in this country are insured under United Heathcare. Just one example is BNSF Railroad, and there are many others. This will make it harder for not just old people, but a lot of working-age people with health problems as well...S+F

The ACA couldn't undermine the health and welfare of the American people any greater than what is happening under this act. Like sheep being led to the slaughter, this is a downright sacrifice of us. Simply put: murderous. People can't take it any longer. There's no where to turn.

reply to post by FlyersFan

"What the government is looking for is to manage better care by adding a patient centered medical home so that you have a doctor who is totally invested with taking care of every aspect of the patient and coordinating it. This is clearly not a patient centered decision," said Dr. Michael Saffir, President of CT State Medical Society.

From the article. What exactly does this mean? It sounds like they want to add "a patient centered medical home" and that it's not "a patient centered decision." Does this make any sense to anyone?

reply to post by InFriNiTee


Yes, we have United health care through a major employer.
The thing about UHC, is that in the plan, they already have it set up to be acceptable to
Obamas health care standards, including transgender surgeries, and covering the maternity etc.

I had a feeling they would be apart of the exchanges, when they included all this stuff, starting last year.
Also with high deductibles.

Hope I am not loosing doctors. I have very specialized specialists. There are a of doctors in this area who do not take regular insurance at all, and now these doctors are suddenly scrambling to get United health care to get them on contract, I suspected it was because they knew they would be on the exchanges. This
now solidifies that fact in my mind.

reply to post by InFriNiTee

That would be Medicare. Healthcare for the elderly.

Most people are not aware, but by the time you reach 65, the government REQUIRES you to enroll in Medicare. This is not an option. You may opt to go with a private insurer such us United Healthcare, or Kaiser Permanente, but another thing that most people do not realize is that these insurers, though seen as "private", follow what is known as "Medicare guidelines".

What is Medicare guidelines, you ask? This is rather simple, overall, though complicated in its detail. Simply put, Medicare has hugely detailed outlines for what they call "allowables". What this means is, every disease, illness, injury, everything that requires a doctor's treatment, must meet specific guidelines. There are flowsheets for everything, down to what requirements determine how and when you are released from the hospital, and if or when you will be committed to a nursing home, deemed to no longer being able to live alone and care for yourself. The government knows best.

For instance, if you have a diabetic ulcer, and have a wound care nurse or a family memeber that treats and cares for this wound at home. The wound, of course, requires cleaning, dressing, and bandaging, a certain number of times per day. This equals a certain number of times per week, per month. All of this has been pre determined based on "normalized" guidelines. One size fits all. So, when the supplies for this home treatment are divied up and sent to your home by mail, you get an exact amount, per Medicare Guidelines, no more, no less.

For example:

1 box of sterlie gloves - medium
2 packages of 50 2x2 sterile gauze
4 boxes 4x4 gauze pads
8 rolls Kerlix wrap
2 Ace bandages
1bottle Hydrogen Peroxide

This is just an example, but let's say the wound for some reason is especially draining or nasty this particular month, and the person treating your wound uses more than the allotted amount. The Medicare patient, usually on a fixed disability or Social Security income anyway, is forced to pay for any extra supplies out of pocket. This means no insurance coverage, no percentage off, no discounts, and must also pay the delivery cost.

Medicare Guidelines are extremely strict. They are wont to NOT give in to outside circumstances, because as I said, the flowcharts and pathways must be followed, and one size fits all.

Many people are not aware this even exists, let alone that what one may consider "Private Insurers" follow this.

Just a little information to shed some light into a dark corner.

Medicaid is a totally different animal, and not to be confused with Medicare. Some of the most demanding, greediest, and stingiest people I have ever run across just so happened to be Medicaid. As I said, a whole other story, and a particularly distasteful one, at that.

What this means in the end is, doctors with UHC, Kaiser, etc., will be forced to accept Medicare allowable payouts. Not market standard negotiated rates as may be seen with other insurance companies.

P.S. If you haven't figured this out, I will simplify it. It is simply more manipulation towards a one-payor system based on the Medicare outline, which fails our elderly seriously, as no two people are alike, no two health issues are alike, and cookie cutter guidelines are absurd, and geared towards putting more expense onto the ill patient that may exceed what is considered allowable, yet, the least able to afford it.

Makes you wonder if they are in it for the care of the sick or to line their own pockets

United Healths Stock

This is sad when their company shares are paying out pretty good, and I can barley afford to live.

Makes a person wonder why health care is so expensive, its a money making machine just like colleges are, you don't want to know how much money Harvard University has.

19KTankCommander
Makes you wonder if they are in it for the care of the sick or to line their own pockets

United Healths Stock

This is sad when their company shares are paying out pretty good, and I can barley afford to live.

Makes a person wonder why health care is so expensive, its a money making machine just like colleges are, you don't want to know how much money Harvard University has.

UHC isn't a charity, it's a business. a business who is lucky enough to be selling a product that its customers are forced to buy or suffer the most dire of consequences. their responsibility, like every corporation, is to maximize return to its owners/stockholders. every move they make is to idealize monetary profits. the quality of the service they provide is entirely secondary in importance. if people get sicker or die, it is an acceptable and intentional result. as long as a certain group of people get wealthier, that's all that matters.