Healthcare Insurance Responses to Industry's Unsavory Reputation
What is likely to be done and what would be respected steps for improvement
The question for UnitedHealthcare and its damning reputation is, “what now?”
The company’s name has become a public venting and revealing of company business practices that have caused people and their families extreme pain.
The explosion that led to that national conversation was the murder of the organization’s CEO, Brian Thompson, who was shot in the back on Dec. 4th as he walked down the street in Manhattan on his way to a meeting with company investors.
His killing resulted in a ghoulish online celebration for Thompson's slaying and for the alleged murderer and now, cult hero, Luigi Mangione. The act was seen as a working class rebellion against what has been judged as unethical, immoral insurer business.
People were ready to share their stories of personal and family suffering. To many, Mangione carried out deserved, vigilante justice, not just against Thompson but also what it sees as a cruel, corrupt company which is fixated on costs and profits, dismissing people’s health, pain relief and lives.
UnitedHealthcare's reputation is in the mud.
How the company will respond long-term is unknown. What it can do to address its increasingly ugly reputation for heartlessness, questionable ethics and moral rot, could be an interesting conversation.
“UHC and insurers more broadly, have an opportunity to reflect on why their practices have elicited such widespread anger and resentment,” says Lindsay Dymowski Constantino, the president at Centennial Pharmacy Services and the principal The Centennial Group, a pharmacy management company.
She elaborates on what that includes.
“They must embrace transparency in their decision-making processes, especially around claims denials, reimbursement policies and access to care,” Dymowski Constantino asserts. “They must let doctors’ ‘doctor’ and trust that the tests, treatments and decisions of the doctor are what’s best for the patient.
“By doing so, they can align their practices with the needs of the people they serve.”
The past might duplicate itself yet maybe not.
“Historically, insurers have leaned heavily on deflecting blame or spinning an argument rather than pursuing transformative change,” Dymowski Constantino says.
That doesn’t mean that more ethical, responsible actions might not now evolve.
“The growing scrutiny from the public, media and even government entities suggest that maintaining status quo may no longer be tenable: The increased pressure may be able to drive noticeable changes,” Dymowski Constantino presents as a possibility.
What now, specifically, outside of what UnitedHealthcare has reportedly done: taking executive photos down from its website and putting fencing around its corporate offices?
“The default will most likely be defensive measures, such as increased security or reducing public visibility,” Dymowski Constantino forecasts, “but removing photos from websites and putting up fences does little to rebuild trust or improve public perception.”
There are smarter, more effective, impressive steps that can be implemented.
“For meaningful improvement, insurers must proactively engage with the public and their clients,” Dymowski Constantino says.
“For real improvement, insurers should enact pro-patient policies like implementing patient advocacy teams, expediting claims for critical care or reducing opaque and restrictive coverage policies. Those are tangible ways to show commitment to reform.”
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