Health and Sanity category archive

Writing at Psychology Today Blogs, Mary McNaughton-Cassill recounts two experiences she had recently when health insurance “AI” bots turned down her claims because, well, they thought they were smarter than her doctors.

Here’s a tiny bit:

In the past seven months, I have undergone two different surgeries with two different surgeons, both involving an overnight stay in the hospital. The first, which received pre-approval from my insurance company, was the culmination of several years of battling a painful autoimmune disorder. Two weeks after the procedure, I received a letter indicating that my insurer had determined that the surgery was unnecessary because I hadn’t had cancer. It took my well-known surgeon’s office six months to convince the payer that their artificial intelligence system and their expert, who trained in an unrelated medical field, had made a mistake.

It is a distressing read, but methinks a worthwhile one. Go decide for yourself.

Afterthought:

Automating greed does not make it less greedy.

When I qualified for Medicare (yeah, I’m old), I made sure to get traditional Medicare, because even back then [mumble] years ago, I knew that “Medicare Advantage” was little more than a con and a scam designed to let insurance companies suckle at the public teat.

And, speaking of insurance companies . . . .

Thom and Matthew Cunningham-Cook contemplate the con. (Warning: Some occasional minor audio glitches.)

Rebecca Watson warns that hedge funds are coming for your medical care.

Or you can read the transcript.

Over at Delaware Liberal, retired Delaware State Representative John Kowalko explains in detail why Medicare Part C, also called “Medicare Advantage,” is a con and a scam less desirable alternative than traditional Medicare (Medicare Parts A and B, plus a “stopgap” policy).

If you or someone you care about is using or considering using “Medicare Advantage,” the post is well worth a read.