US House of Representatives Holds Hearing on Abusive Practices by Health Insurers
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The US House Energy & Commerce Health Subcommittee and Ways & Means Committee held hearings on Capitol Hill on Thursday, January 22nd, with explosive examples given of heartbreaking coverage denials, surprising executive compensation and vaccine coverage, among other insurer practices harming patients by major health insurers including UnitedHealth, Cigna, Elevance Health, and others.
One member of the committee dubbed UnitedHealth Group the “poster child for Medicare Advantage abuse” and said the plan’s practice of delaying or denying claims “looks like a business model” to increase profits. Another member told the story of a constituent who had a UnitedHealth Medicare Advantage Plan and was hospitalized after suffering a stroke. UnitedHealth refused to pay for their hospitalization saying that it was “medically unnecessary,” overriding their physician’s medical decision and leaving the patient stuck with a huge bill. The story of a California family who had to declare bankruptcy after UnitedHealth refused to pay for treatment for their daughter’s bladder tumor.
While no policy changes were offered, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) was mentioned at several points with Republicans arguing it had increased healthcare costs, while Democrats praised it for reducing the number of uninsured patients and urged the Senate to extend the ACA’s expanded premium tax credits, a measure that recently passed the House of Representatives.
To read more details from the hearing: Medpage Today
