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Tuesday, March 11th, 2008
United Health Care Sucks!

Okay, a couple months ago my husband's insurance changed at work to United Health Care. I don't know if anyone has UHC, but all I can say is to sum it up- It sucks bigtime!

Just a few of the problems w/ them.....

(1.) They are constantly charging us for things that we should not have to pay for. Ex- blood work. It clearly states in our benefits that ALL blood work is covered. It never fails, a couple weeks after have some blood work done, we get a bill for a couple hundred dollars & the words printed at the bottom- "Patient responsibility is..." So, then we have to call, tell them that they made a mistake & wait another couple weeks before another letter arrives stating that we owe nothing. Extremely annoying & a big waste of time & paper.

(2.) UHC is so fricken' cheap. They are constantly looking for ways to save a few bucks. Their biggest way to "trim the fat" is to only allow a few certain doctors to be covered. And of course, only the worst doctors in town are covered. The phrase that best describes these doctors is one that was coined by one of my fellow grad students- "The cream of the crap." SIU & Koke Mill- I'm talking about you! More about them in a later blog.

(3.) Just trying to get someone on the phone to talk to them about your messed up bill is almost impossible. After what seems like forever on hold, you are finally able to talk to someone. Of course, that person is never the right person that you needed to talk to & you are put on hold again while being transferred again & again. One day I spent what seemed like half the day on hold only to be transferred to someone who did not speak much English & then put on hold again while being transferred to a supervisior. After about 30 mintutes, I hung up & called back again. I got the same woman as before & told her why I was calling again. "Oh," she said, "You were transferred to a supervisior." I said, "Well, nobody picked up & I've been on hold for half an hour." So then she said she would transfer me again. This time I told her that I was tired of the run around, tired of being on hold, & I wanted to speak to someone within 30 seconds." That actually worked & I was finally able to speak to someone shortly after that. Sad that I actually had to do that just to speak to someone who could help me. Again, thanks for wasting my time UHC!

In short, UHC is evil. Not Walmart evil, but a close second. To say that I hate them would be an insult to the people out there who are actually hated, They are cheap, rude, & completely useless. We have had nothing but problems w/ them & I hope that anyone reading this will think twice before using them in the future!

Tomorrow:

Why SIU & Koke Mill Clinics Suck Too!
3 Comments
nikideaton
1) A couple of years ago I had to pay $89 out my own pocket for a pregnancy test. I went to my doctor and was trying to get my birth control switched and I guess it is standard procedure for them to do a pregnancy test when that happens, well they did not even tell me they were doing it (and I could have told them that I was definitely not pregnant if they had asked). So I get a bill for a mysterious $89 charge after multiple phone calls to the doctor's office and back to the lab they sent it to and my insurance company I came to find out it was a pregnancy test. My insurance would not cover it because they sent it to an out of network lab, I told my doctor's office this and they said well that is strange we usually do that in house, I guess next year when you are here just make sure to tell the doctor that you don't want any unneccesary tests done that your insurance does not cover it! I feel your pain.
niki   Tuesday, March 11, 2008
daveheinzel
2) We have BC/BS, and I feel the same way you do. We waste so much money every month paying for their coverage, and we are constantly nickled and dimed for things that are just ridiculous. If we dropped coverage completely and put that money into an account, we would spend considerably less on health care. The only problem with doing that is we are totally SOL if we have any major injuries.

It wouldn't be such a big problem is healthcare wasn't so expensive to begin with, and this is where the government should step in. It's totally out of control, and the average person has absolutely no power in this matter at all.
Dave Heinzel   Tuesday, March 11, 2008
dennydeaton
3) We recently saw the movie Sicko by Michael Moore and it was eye-opening to say the least. I am sure parts of the movie were painted to be more rosy than they are in reality but overall I think the movie was very well done. I learned a lot about the way other countries approach socialized medicine and also about the self-serving insurance companies we have in the US. I would totally support a government-subsidized health care plan or at least more control over what insurance companies are allowed to do. They should be designed to help people not turn them away or overcharge them for unnecessary services.
Denny Deaton   Tuesday, March 11, 2008
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