Dr. Elisabeth Potter, a plastic surgeon from Austin, made a TikTok video to convey how bad having to deal with U.S. health insurance providers has become after she had to take a phone call from UnitedHealthcare while she was performing surgery.
"It's 2025 and insurance just keeps getting worse," said Potter.
She explained in her caption:
"I just performed two bilateral DIEP flap surgeries and two bilateral tissue expander surgeries. During one of the DIEP cases, I was interrupted by a call from United Healthcare—while the patient was already asleep on the operating table."
"I've never had this happen before," Potter said of the interruption from the insurance provider inquiring about the patient she had already started working on.
Potter was forced to scrub out mid-surgery and call UnitedHealthcare back only to find out the reason was for her to provide information about her patient's "diagnosis and inpatient stay justification."
She explained to the representative, "Do you understand that [the patient's] asleep right now and she has breast cancer?"
The person confirmed they weren't aware of the situation but that a "different department" would be privy to that information.
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Potter continued:
"I was like, 'Well, she does need to stay overnight tonight and you have all the information with you because I got approval for the surgery. And I need to go back and be with my patient now.' "
You can see the clip here.
At the end of the clip, Potter concluded that healthcare in the U.S. has gotten "out of control" and that overall, "Insurance is out of control. I have no other words."
She additionally wrote in the caption:
"It’s beyond frustrating and, frankly, unacceptable. Patients and providers deserve better than this. We should be focused on care, not bureaucracy."
"I just have no other words at this point."
Social media users were equally as outraged and baffled.
@drelisabethpotter/TikTok
@drelisabethpotter/TikTok
@drelisabethpotter/TikTok
@drelisabethpotter/TikTok
@drelisabethpotter/TikTok
@drelisabethpotter/TikTok
@drelisabethpotter/TikTok
@drelisabethpotter/TikTok
@drelisabethpotter/TikTok
@drelisabethpotter/TikTok
@drelisabethpotter/TikTok
"Claim denials" are one of the many frustrating health insurance policies patients have dealt with, according to Fox59.
The strategy involves patients being told insurers won't cover medical costs required for procedures they seek, which can be attributed to several factors, including a patient's ineligibility for coverage, a service not being under a patient's plan, or the specific service not having authorization.
However, the outlet noted that "more than three-quarters of denials in 2021 did not list a specific reason."
United Healthcare also is known for having "higher rates of denials than its peers," which has caused frustration and may have been a contributing factor that prompted the December 4, 2024, murder of its CEO, Brian Thompson.
Having health insurance also doesn't ensure access to high-quality or even affordable health care.
Research showed that 1 in 3 Americans have delayed or simply neglected necessary medical attention due to administrative burdens, which include learning, compliance, and psychological costs.
You know that when a medical professional like Potter proclaims dealing with U.S. health insurance has gotten "more out of control," it is an urgent matter that requires a serious overhaul.
@jessicachastain/Instagram
