• MisterFrog@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    You must wonder if the board has a death wish at this point, otherwise they must be confident their 24/7 security is up the task

    • ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org
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      2 days ago

      I think they probably count on the Edward Snowden effect - i.e. people are massively outraged for a few weeks, then they lose interest, move on to the next hot topic and nothing changes.

  • NastyNative@mander.xyz
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    2 days ago

    Proof that Luigi was right! 2025 is the year we the people start denying their existence. Medicare for all and the doctors that get paid the most do so by having healthy patients. No more pill popping to keep making these insurers rich!

    • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
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      2 days ago

      Given who is about to be sworn into office, I’m not sure too much progress will happen, but people will certainly get an idea of how much they’re getting fucked.

      Maybe after the next election?

    • humble peat digger@lemm.ee
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      2 days ago

      Question -:why is there no website that lists and compiles these issues?

      Is it shutdown by their legal?

      Maybe someone could start a database distributed as torrent. So many people can host it and spin up as needed?

        • humble peat digger@lemm.ee
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          2 days ago

          I’m a us citizen, but naturalized. Meaning they can accuse me of terrorism and deport me, whereas for Americans born here - they can’t really do that. Has to be someone born in us.

          • Bytemeister@lemmy.world
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            2 days ago

            Doesn’t matter if you were born here or not, you just need to look like you would fit white in with their idea of normal.

          • meliante@lemm.ee
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            2 days ago

            Whereas a born American can just be accused of terrorism and be thrown in jail for god knows how many years?

            If you’re not willing to be the change then it doesn’t need changing.

  • ExtremeDullard@lemmy.sdf.org
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    3 days ago

    You’d think UHC would strive to behave impeccably with all the publicity around them lately. But no: they’re so shameless and so greedy they even behave rotten when everybody is busy dissecting their every moves. Amazing…

      • Hideakikarate@sh.itjust.works
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        3 days ago

        If that were the case, they’d have off’d the CEO themselves. That’s multi-millions that could go back to other higher-ups. Then we have a Highlander situation.

        • boonhet@lemm.ee
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          3 days ago

          The CEO serves a very important role in that they get all the fallout for what the board probably wants, and then if there’s enough bad publicity, they can fire the CEO and pretend that the CEO acted entirely out of their own volition.

          I mean that’s not to say they’re not greedy bloodsuckers, but they’re greedy bloodsuckers that the board needs. Because the board are even bigger greedy bloodsuckers and want to stay out of the news.

          • otp@sh.itjust.works
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            2 days ago

            If course, the board can also play innocent in any bad decisions, because they can just say “It’s what the shareholders want!” or “It’s what the consultants told us!”

    • halcyoncmdr@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      Because doing otherwise wouldn’t maximize profits. There’s no actual competition in the market for consumers to choose. Nearly all Americans get insurance through their work, and have absolutely no say in what companies those options are from, and those options might only change at the end of the year if the company changes their insurance partner (which I’m sure takes months to negotiate). UHC has no reason to change unless they are forced to. Customer Satisfaction in the industry is abysmal because there’s no incentive for the companies to actually be good.

    • normalexit@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      I don’t think you can pivot a 465 billion dollar company. Especially one where being unethical is a profit making feature.

      They won’t fix themselves, hell why even reign it in if the system rewards bad behavior?

    • orcrist@lemm.ee
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      3 days ago

      Of course they wouldn’t try to behave well. Remember that the bosses in this organization are all incredibly selfish. They are rich, they want to get richer, and f*** everybody else. Although the company itself might benefit from a positive PR campaign, none of these people individually would, so they’re not going to push for one.

      It’s a strange kind of honesty about bad behavior. Everyone is so selfish that they can’t even pretend as an organization that they would like to do the right thing.

    • TheDemonBuer@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      They had their underwriters run the numbers and they determined it’s more profitable to continue business as usual and just invest in private security for executives.

    • nutsack@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      they know that the publicity is temporary and does not matter because a corporation is not a democracy

    • psud@aussie.zone
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      3 days ago

      In Corey Doctorow’s short story (Radicalized, in the collection Radicalized) the health fund attackers typically used explosives against the entire board and their support staff

      I wonder if that would be more effective

    • SirSamuel@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      CEO’s come and go and one just went

      The ingredients you got bake the cake you get

      So, if you get sick, cross your fingers for luck

      ‘Cause old Richard T. Burke ain’t givin’ a fuck

      • Jesse Wells, United Health
    • irotsoma@lemmy.world
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      3 days ago

      What incentivize do they have? The vast majority of their customers have no choice but to be their customers. They just need to keep the companies that companies contract with to set up benefits happy. That’s a very small pool and most aren’t customers of theirs. And especially with the anti-regulation party coming into power, there’s no reason to fear government intervention. But even before that, it wasnt really a threat.

      • JovialMicrobial@lemm.ee
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        2 days ago

        My employer had to hire a lawyer to get their insurance company to cover us and stop denying claims. It’s beyond fucked up out there.

    • IzzyScissor@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Bob actually tried to milk the insurance companies for money, IIRC. He wasn’t entirely a monster, but definitely had no chill.

      Dr. Bob Kelso: What the hell people? I saw Maggie Kent in the park. Why didn't we treat her?
      Nurse Carla Espinosa: She has no insurance.
      Dr. Bob Kelso: Well, why didn't we do what we always do? Why didn't you fix it while I turned my back and pretend not to notice? You know the dance.
      
      • katy ✨@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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        2 days ago

        he definitely mellowed out as the series went on though in the first episode he did come up with

        Dr. Dorian, do you not realize that you’re nothing but a large pair of scrubs to me? For God’s sake, the only reason I carry this chart around is so I can pretend to remember your damn names! Now look, if the patient has insurance, you treat them; if they don’t, you show them the door.

    • AngryCommieKender@lemmy.world
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      2 days ago

      Was Bob actually denying the claims, or just passing the buck to the lawyer character? Can’t remember his name.

      Edit: Ted! No wonder I didn’t remember that. They barely ever actually said his name.

      • MystikIncarnate@lemmy.ca
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        2 days ago

        Bob wasn’t denying anything.

        He just wanted the people who were getting treatment to have insurance so the hospital can get paid.

        In this context, I’m sure if someone was denied coverage, his attitude on it would be the same as his attitude on people who are not insured.

        AFAIK he would have had no say on whether someone was denied coverage. He did however, have a say on whether they were denied care. His professional attitude about that was “show them the door” but that policy was rarely ever actually enforced, and the few times it was, he complained that everyone did what he was telling them to.

  • Jimmycakes@lemmy.world
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    2 days ago

    They could put out a story like this every minute of every day and never run out. Burn it all down indeed