> last week a plastic surgeon called Dr Elisabeth Potter – a specialist in reconstructive surgery for breast cancer patients who have had mastectomies – went viral on TikTok for claiming she had to step out of an operation (where another surgeon was also present) because a health insurance representative demanded proof it was necessary
The surgeon risked brain damage for the patient due to anaesthesia to go try collect her payment rather than just do the surgery for free? And she wants to be the sympathetic one?
No. I think she shouldn't throw stones in glass houses. She is demanding that UHC provide service at a loss but she herself isn't willing to do so herself.
She isn’t demanding anything as far as the article indicates. The health insurer demanded to talk to her. How do you know that the health insurer would be operating at a loss? Quite clearly it isn’t as United Health is quite profitable.
It’s the insurer that was unreasonable in this case. No one buys into your view.
She could have spoken with UHC after the fact. Even if that meant she didn't get paid for the procedure. Even if that meant operating at a loss. Surgery is a very profitable. But she wasn't willing to do that, yet demanded UHC to do so.
It’s weird you think nurses, anesthesiologists, etc. should work for free while the health insurance company not pay for the care that it has been paid to pay for. I suppose the surgeon should pay for the materials used and for use of the space too. We are entering an era of corporate excess and shills will be in high demand so you likely will not need to work for free.
No, I think that neither should work for free--thus its hypocritical for the doctor complaining that UHC should offer free services, but she should not herself.
I doubt this played out the way you describe. For one thing, she wasn't the only surgeon in the room, so it's not like she just left the person on the table unattended.
> According to Potter, her patient was under anesthesia when she got an urgent phone call from UnitedHealthcare while in the operating room.
You think a surgeon is answering her cellphone in the middle of an operation? No, to me this says someone else who works for the hospital had to interrupt the procedure to get the surgeon on the phone. I would guess she felt she had to take the call or lose her job.
Tell us you have no idea how an operating theater works without telling us. Or you're a PI attorney looking to invent a case. There is an anesthesiologist present when general is given. And, had you actually read for comprehension before knee jerking, there was another surgeon present. Further, surgeons don't usually just stroll out of a surgery because if something does go wrong, "explain why you were out of the room when my client was dying" isn't something you want to be asked in the inevitable lawsuit. So...just no. More importantly, the insurance company claiming the procedure isn't necessary has far more implications for the doctor and the hospital than "rich surgeon might not get another boat". But don't let a big old pile of not knowing what you're talking about get in the way of your manufactured outrage.
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[ 2.5 ms ] story [ 38.9 ms ] threadThe surgeon risked brain damage for the patient due to anaesthesia to go try collect her payment rather than just do the surgery for free? And she wants to be the sympathetic one?
Weird that you think surgeons, anesthesiologists, hospitals, and nurses should work for free.
Should mechanics, teachers, police, firefighters work for free? Are you advocating for a communist type economic system?
It’s the insurer that was unreasonable in this case. No one buys into your view.
> According to Potter, her patient was under anesthesia when she got an urgent phone call from UnitedHealthcare while in the operating room.
You think a surgeon is answering her cellphone in the middle of an operation? No, to me this says someone else who works for the hospital had to interrupt the procedure to get the surgeon on the phone. I would guess she felt she had to take the call or lose her job.