Even as UnitedHealth Group workers have been wrongly made to feel unsafe by a barrage of threats and vitriol over the past nine days, CEO Andrew Witty said in a New York Times op-ed Friday that insurers must do better in being transparent with patients when coverage for care is denied.
The company followed up Friday evening with a statement to correct what it called misinformation about the denial rate at its UnitedHealthcare business, the nation’s largest health insurer.
About 90% of medical claims are paid upon submission, and of those requiring further review less than 1% are due to medical or clinical reasons, the company said.
“Health care is both intensely personal and very complicated, and the reasons behind coverage decisions are not well understood,” Witty wrote in the guest column. “We share some of the responsibility for that. Together with employers, governments and others who pay for care, we need to improve how we explain what insurance covers and how decisions are made.”
The comments follow a wave of public anger that crashed over the insurance industry online, especially on social media, since the killing of Brian Thompson, the UnitedHealthcare chief executive and Maple Grove resident shot repeatedly on a sidewalk in New York City.
The outrage was fueled by early reports on Thompson’s death that quoted his wife as saying the executive had received threats, possibly over denials, and because the words “deny” and “delay” reportedly were found written on bullet casings recovered from the crime scene.
UnitedHealth Group confirmed Thursday night that shooting suspect Luigi Mangione did not have health insurance from UnitedHealthcare, contrary to speculation the 26-year-old might have been motivated by a coverage dispute with the company.
Safety concerns amid the animosity prompted two other health insurers in the Twin Cities to temporarily close offices this month.