Hacker News with Generative AI: Health Insurance

Blue Shield shared the private health data of millions with Google for years (techcrunch.com)
Health insurance giant Blue Shield of California is notifying millions of people of a data breach. The company confirmed on Wednesday that it had been sharing patients’ private health information with tech and advertising giant Google since 2021.

Data Privacy, Health Insurance, Google, Data Breaches

9 points by coloneltcb 3 days ago | 2 comments

UnitedHealth Is Sick of Everyone Complaining About Its Claim Denials (rollingstone.com)
Two months after the killing of UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson sent shockwaves through the much-reviled U.S. health insurance industry, the company’s parent, UnitedHealth Group, is making aggressive moves to protect its image.

Health Insurance, Business, Corporate Image, UnitedHealth Group

161 points by frenchtoast8 75 days ago | 194 comments

Government Monitoring Those with "Negative" Views of Health Insurance Companies (kenklippenstein.com)
If you expressed “negative sentiment” toward insurance companies on social media following the murder of UnitedHealthcare’s CEO last month, the government was watching.

Government Surveillance, Health Insurance, Social Media, UnitedHealthcare

18 points by pessimizer 97 days ago | 6 comments

Health insurers limit prosthetic limb coverage, questioning medical necessity (medicalxpress.com)

Health Insurance, Prosthetics, Medical Necessity

10 points by bikenaga 107 days ago | 1 comments

Human judgment must remain central to health insurance claims: California law (mercurynews.com)
Last year, about a quarter of all health insurance claims were denied in California — a reality mirrored nationwide that has stoked public anger toward health care companies, and led to accusations that such decisions lack human empathy.

Health Insurance, California Law, Healthcare, Consumer Advocacy

62 points by bentocorp 110 days ago | 37 comments

Her Treatment Was Helping. That's Why Insurance Cut Off Her Coverage (propublica.org)
Moore, 32, had spent much of the past eight months in treatment for severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder and anxiety when BCBS said it would no longer pay for the program in January.

Health Insurance, Mental Health, Healthcare, Insurance Coverage, Patient Advocacy

68 points by impish9208 112 days ago | 45 comments

I Was a Health Insurance Executive. What I Saw Made Me Quit. (nytimes.com)
I left my job as a health insurance executive at Cigna after a crisis of conscience.

Health Insurance, Personal Stories, Business

30 points by bookofjoe 124 days ago | 13 comments

Insurers limit coverage of prosthetic limbs, questioning their medical necessity (cbsnews.com)
Health insurers limit coverage of prosthetic limbs, questioning their medical necessity

Health Insurance, Prosthetics, Medical Coverage, Accessibility

15 points by howard941 124 days ago | 1 comments

Cory Doctorow's prescient novella about health insurance and murder (theguardian.com)
Five years ago, the science fiction writer Cory Doctorow published a short story whose plot might seem eerily similar to followers of the past few weeks’ news.

Science Fiction, Health Insurance, Murder, Politics

9 points by throw0101c 126 days ago | 1 comments

I Was a Health Insurance Executive. What I Saw Made Me Quit (nytimes.com)
I left my job as a health insurance executive at Cigna after a crisis of conscience.

Health Insurance, Business Ethics, Personal Experiences

11 points by iancmceachern 128 days ago | 4 comments

I Was a Health Insurance Executive. What I Saw Made Me Quit (nytimes.com)
I left my job as a health insurance executive at Cigna after a crisis of conscience.

Health Insurance, Business, Ethics, Personal Stories

10 points by johnny313 128 days ago | 0 comments

Health Insurance is a Racket. What value do these companies add, really? (paulkrugman.substack.com)
It’s not news that many Americans dislike health insurance companies. In fact, Brian Thompson, the CEO of UnitedHealthcare who was murdered two weeks ago, reportedly warned his colleagues months ago that the industry had a public relations problem. Still, the glee with which substantial numbers of people reacted to his death and the elevation by some of Luigi Mangione, his alleged killer, to folk-hero status has come as a shock.

Health Insurance, Healthcare, Public Opinion, Business

38 points by Traces 129 days ago | 37 comments

CA Law Prohibits Health Insurance Companies from Using AI to Deny Healthcare (senate.ca.gov)
Sacramento, CA—As 2025 approaches, Californians can look forward to strengthened patient protections under the new Physicians Make Decisions Act (SB 1120), authored by Senator Josh Becker (D-Menlo Park). This groundbreaking law ensures that decisions about medical treatments are made by licensed health care providers, not solely determined by artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms used by health insurers.

Health Insurance, AI, California Law, Healthcare, Patient Protections

11 points by toomuchtodo 133 days ago | 1 comments

The entire healthcare system is broken, not just health insurance companies (sensible-med.com)
The American health care system is profoundly broken. We spend more than any peer nation, and have worse outcomes. Worse, for what we pay, the system is not even user friendly.

Healthcare, United States, Health Insurance, Medical Costs

55 points by nradov 133 days ago | 84 comments

Feds help health insurers hide their dirty secret: denials on the rise (nypost.com)
The health insurance industry’s dirty secret is that it’s no longer selling insurance: It’s selling a crapshoot.

Health Insurance, Government, Business, Consumer Rights

150 points by mancerayder 134 days ago | 279 comments

Anthem drops controversial new plan to cap anesthesia coverage after backlash (usatoday.com)
After receiving intense backlash, a health insurance provider has rolled back its plan to implement a new policy that would have limited its coverage for anesthesia used during procedures.

Health Insurance, Healthcare, Controversy, Backlash

47 points by donsupreme 139 days ago | 36 comments

Torrent of Hate for Health Insurance Industry Follows CEO's Killing (nytimes.com)
The fatal shooting on Wednesday of a top UnitedHealthcare executive, Brian Thompson, on a Manhattan sidewalk has unleashed a torrent of morbid glee from patients and others who say they have had negative experiences with health insurance companies at some of the hardest times of their lives.

Health Insurance, Crime, Public Opinion

116 points by jbrot 141 days ago | 294 comments

United Healthcare CEO Shooting: Message May Have Been Left on Bullets (newsweek.com)
There are unconfirmed reports that the shooter who killed UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson in midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning, in what police are describing as a "targeted attack," may have left a message for investigators.

Crime, Health Insurance, New York

11 points by philip1209 142 days ago | 7 comments

Americans React to UnitedHealthcare CEO's Murder: 'My Empathy Is Out of Network' (gizmodo.com)
When the CEO of UnitedHealthcare, Brian Thompson, was killed in a targeted shooting Wednesday morning in New York, politicians from his home state of Minnesota posted sympathetic messages on social media. But those responses of support were soon drowned out by a very different tone, as people shared horror stories of being denied covered by the health insurance company and made morbid jokes comparing the CEO’s death to the ways they’ve been mistreated by the U.S. health care system.

Health Insurance, Social Media, United States, Healthcare

182 points by pseudolus 142 days ago | 475 comments

UnitedHealth's Playbook for Limiting Mental Health Coverage (propublica.org)
For years, it was a mystery: Seemingly out of the blue, therapists would feel like they’d tripped some invisible wire and become a target of UnitedHealth Group.

Health Insurance, Mental Health, UnitedHealth Group

93 points by cratermoon 142 days ago | 21 comments

Anthem Blue Cross Won't Pay for the Complete Duration of Anesthesia for Surgery (asahq.org)
In an unprecedented move, Anthem Blue Cross Blue Shield plans representing Connecticut, New York and Missouri have unilaterally declared it will no longer pay for anesthesia care if the surgery or procedure goes beyond an arbitrary time limit, regardless of how long the surgical procedure takes.

Healthcare, Insurance, Lawsuits, Health Insurance

16 points by healsdata 142 days ago | 5 comments

CEO of UnitedHealthcare Is Fatally Shot in Midtown Manhattan (nytimes.com)
The chief executive of UnitedHealthcare, one of the nation’s largest health insurers, was fatally shot outside a hotel in Midtown Manhattan on Wednesday morning, the police said.

Health Insurance, Crime

13 points by ctoth 143 days ago | 2 comments

UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson fatally shot outside of Hilton hotel (nypost.com)
The CEO of UnitedHealth was fatally shot in the chest Wednesday morning outside the Hilton hotel in Midtown in what police say was a targeted attack.

Business, Crime, News, Health Insurance

13 points by jrpelkonen 143 days ago | 0 comments

UnitedHealth's Playbook for Limiting Mental Health Coverage (propublica.org)
For years, it was a mystery: Seemingly out of the blue, therapists would feel like they’d tripped some invisible wire and become a target of UnitedHealth Group.

Health Insurance, Mental Health, UnitedHealth Group

16 points by hn_acker 157 days ago | 1 comments

The Company Helping America's Health Insurers Deny Coverage for Care (propublica.org)
Every day, patients across America crack open envelopes with bad news. Yet another health insurer has decided not to pay for a treatment that their doctor has recommended. Sometimes it’s a no for an MRI for a high school wrestler with a strained back. Sometimes for a cancer procedure that will help a grandmother with a throat tumor. Sometimes for a heart scan for a truck driver feeling short of breath.

Healthcare, Insurance, Health Insurance, United States

70 points by dopylitty 184 days ago | 30 comments

How a Customer Got Trapped in Ambetter's Ghost Network (propublica.org)
Ravi Coutinho bought a health insurance plan thinking it would deliver on its promise of access to mental health providers. But even after 21 phone calls and multiple hospitalizations, no one could find him a therapist.

Health Insurance, Mental Health, Healthcare Access, Patient Experiences

89 points by howard941 229 days ago | 41 comments