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Medicare for All
@AllOnMedicare
Health care is a right.
Joined January 2013
Medicare for All’s Tweets
isn’t any better. I spent 1.5 hrs on the phone trying to figure out why my wife’s post- mastectomy complication PT stopped being covered all of the sudden and no one knows. I’m a physician- imagine trying to navigate the system without privilege and insight - it’s broken
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Dear my patient who is insured by you has been critically ill in the ICU for days and we have been on the phone for hours to get approval for lifesaving therapies to no avail. This is incredibly unethical and it is frustrating that you can get away with such behavior.
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“Everyone gets an insurance denial from time to time. It’s sort of a fact of life.”
But it doesn’t have to be.
#SinglePayer #MedicareForAll
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BREAKING: calls for to end opposition to #SinglePayer health care.
Great news!
nytimes.com/2023/02/01/opi
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NYT’s latest Kristof column is predictably shallow, but he gets this right!
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NYT’s latest Kristof column is predictably shallow, but he gets this right!
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“More than 200 million Americans are covered by private health insurance. But data from state and federal regulators shows that insurers reject about 1 in 7 claims for treatment. Many people, faced with fighting insurance companies, simply give up.”
#SinglePayer #MedicareForAll
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1/Millions of Americans with health insurance are denied care every year. Patients can appeal but most don't. Usually, the insurer wins without a fight.
One sick patient decided to battle UnitedHealthcare in court. Here’s what happened. 
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On a recorded call, a @UHC nurse and an insurance broker laugh while discussing a patient whose claim had just been rejected.
They agree that any appeal would be a waste of the family’s time and money:
“We’re still gonna say no.”
propub.li/3DzG5l4
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“You get into hopelessness,” she said of the depression that accompanies fighting with [insurers] over care. “They feel like ‘I can’t fix that. I am screwed.’ When you can’t control things with what an insurance company is doing, anxiety, PTSD and depression get mixed together.”
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“We’re Still Gonna Say No”: Inside UnitedHealthcare’s Effort to Deny Coverage to Chronically Ill Patient
propublica.org/article/united
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“We’re Still Gonna Say No”: Inside UnitedHealthcare’s Effort to Deny Coverage to Chronically Ill Patient
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This is blowing up, and I've got a beautiful baby to take care of, so I'm going to mute, but #MedicareForAll #MedicareForAll #MedicareForAll
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Also, I had no complications in my delivery, so this is the best case scenario cost.
And the majority of this bill, more than $30,000, was not for medical care but “room and board” — aka 3 nights in a non-private hospital room at $10,000+ a night.
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But holy shit to get this bill, while this sleep-deprived, my heart…
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I do have insurance; I am sure I will get it sorted after wasting a few hours on the phone.
(The scum at Blue Cross Blue Shield, which covered claims just a few days prior to this, told the hospital that suddenly I was uninsured. Right.)
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TIL what it costs to give birth in America without insurance.
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Medicare for All NOW!
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TIL what it costs to give birth in America without insurance.
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53% of respondents in high-deductible health plans said they have received a bill that did not match the upfront price estimate.
For more, see this week's What I'm Reading:
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Yes, you are entitled to health care from birth to grave, because you are a human being. #SinglePayerSunday
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So grateful to the team for helping me resolve this billing issue. It's been a source of anxiety over the past 2 years, but it's amazing how quickly it was resolved once the Peste team stepped in.
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The hospital didn’t tell him the price for two sleep studies before he had them. His insurance wouldn’t pay. They put him nearly $17k in debt and didn't respond to him.
Then, we helped him erase nearly all of his debt. Here's the story.
pestemag.com/featured-posts
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The hospital didn’t tell him the price for two sleep studies before he had them. His insurance wouldn’t pay. They put him nearly $17k in debt and didn't respond to him.
Then, we helped him erase nearly all of his debt. Here's the story.
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There is no bottom with the private health insurance companies. We must pass #MedicareForAll.
Shame on you and .
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For 7 months @Cigna hasn't reimbursed routine therapy for my son who has special needs. For 7 months, they have stonewalled me about why, even though the therapy is clearly covered in my policy. For 7 months, I have sat on hold, shuttled from operator to operator. At my wit's end
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There is no bottom with the private health insurance companies. We must pass #MedicareForAll.
Shame on you and .
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For 7 months @Cigna hasn't reimbursed routine therapy for my son who has special needs. For 7 months, they have stonewalled me about why, even though the therapy is clearly covered in my policy. For 7 months, I have sat on hold, shuttled from operator to operator. At my wit's end
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I am so sorry. I used to go thru this constantly w/therapies for my son who has special needs. Also w/Cigna- grrrr. I eventually hired an excellent insurance advocate who has expertly handled all claims for us.Totally worth the cost & the time gained.Happy to share contact info
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I once fought a 250,000 bill for one of my son’s surgeries. I created a binder & made phone calls literally every day after work. Took notes. People got 2 know me & my tenacity. After one full year they got it down to about 45,000 which the hospital ate. Cut me a check for $450!
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Replying to
My mother complained of severe back pain. Her health insurance refused to approve any scans without trying physical therapy first. 7 months later she was taken to the ER from the pain and a tumor was discovered. She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.
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Just a few days ago, refused to pay for a test for this babe to see if his cancer had returned! 's tweet went viral and relented over night. It's horrible that this is the way it works. But, let's at least try to make them respond.
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UPDATE: @Cigna has approved the PET scan. THANK YOU to each and every one of you who boosted this and helped make that happen. But reading so many of the stories in this thread is a clear reminder this is a systemic problem. Which means it requires systemic solutions. twitter.com/audiosand/stat…
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I have emailed you countless times in the past to no avail and forgive me if a generic email address doesn’t feel like meaningful customer service but I will email you now.
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I will keep you posted on how I get on and am blown away by the kindness and generosity of so many of you offering support and guidance. Thank you. It should not be so hard for anyone to get appropriate treatment for their kid.
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UPDATE: within 2 hours of posting these tweets, someone from CIGNA called my home. On the one hand, it’s a step in the right direction. On the other hand, I am keenly aware that people who don’t have a public profile/ social media following probably don’t get the same treatment.
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Just spent 45 minutes on hold with for the second time today and call was dropped for the second time today. Honestly, I feel broken. This is not a way to treat people. Please get in touch if you have had similar experiences or have any wisdom/ suggestions to impart
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Before I enrolled my son in this therapy, I called to make sure it was fully covered (it was) and now I can't get a straight answer as to why they won't reimburse me. We are tens of thousands of dollars out of pocket.
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Does anyone have any ideas or has been in a similar situation? I feel like I am losing my mind. The thing that does is that they don't refuse to repay you, they just say "pending" and with there's an "N/A" with explanation of benefits. FOR SEVEN MONTHS.
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For 7 months hasn't reimbursed routine therapy for my son who has special needs. For 7 months, they have stonewalled me about why, even though the therapy is clearly covered in my policy. For 7 months, I have sat on hold, shuttled from operator to operator. At my wit's end
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I'm so sorry you are going through this. My children's father is blind, fighting cancer and dropped him without any notification mid-treatment. So in addition to being at death's dark door, he has to fear how to pay. The system is so deeply flawed and inhumane.
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