TAMPA, Fla. — There is a viral movement taking place online, and medical professionals are leading the charge. They are fighting to put patient care into the hands of doctors, not health insurance companies.
We spoke with doctors in Florida and across the country who told ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska that health insurance is geared toward “denials” while putting ”barriers” in place to make it more difficult for procedures to get the green light.
St. Petersburg Doctor Alicia Billington is a board-certified plastic surgeon. She tells Paluska health insurance companies that doctors should decide patient care, not the industry.
From his medical office in Texas, Dr. Steven Cyr, Zoomed with ABC Action News reporter Michael Paluska.
A post by another doctor in Texas, Dr. Elisabeth Potter also went viral, garnering millions of views and tens of thousands of comments.
United Healthcare sent a letter to Dr. Potter calling her posts defamatory and false. In the letter, the company says, “They did not ask, nor ever expect a physician to interrupt patient care to return a phone.”
The insurance company also demanded a public apology, retraction, and removal of her social media posts and condemned threats of violence. Some of the comments on her Jan. 7 video stated, “Free Luigi” and “In Luigi we trust.”
That is referring to Luigi Mangione. He is accused of murdering United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson, the husband and father of two, who was shot in the back while walking down a New York City street.
Dr. Potter continues to follow up with videos in her defense saying she won’t be threatened or silenced.
ABC Action News requested an on-camera interview with United Healthcare, we were sent this information after our report aired.
UHC’sstatementon Dr. Potter:
UnitedHealthcare approved the outpatient surgery and the post-surgical overnight observation stay on 12/27/24 within two hours of the request being submitted. There was no need for any further clarification or communication. Our inquiry to the hospital was due to an erroneous order of a separate inpatient stay request. The hospital has acknowledged this error. Most importantly, the patient received all necessary care, was not responsible for the erroneous bill, which would have resulted in higher costs for the patient, and the surgery and overnight observation stay are covered by the member’s plan with minimal cost to the patient.
UHC also sent information regarding their claims process.
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