When I began to go through menopause, I kept getting UTIs and other infections that failed to heal quickly. It sent me down a doctor hole that nobody enjoys going through.
I saw many doctors, and my question was always, “Why does this keep happening?” I got in front of NYU’s Head of Infectious Disease, who said these things happen in such a cavalier way that he made me feel dismissed.
Fast-forward: I ended up in the hospital for four days, and I was not getting better. An incredible doctor kept coming back each day, trying to put the puzzle together. His exact words were “Occam’s razor,” meaning that when faced with multiple problems, the most straightforward answer is correct, aka everything is connected. And low and behold, he figured it out. My IgG levels and antibodies in the serum were extremely low.
Supposedly, I have had this all my life, but as you get older, your response to infections changes. Since then, I have been getting monthly immunoglobulin replacement therapy, which takes about 2-3 hours. A nurse comes each month and gives me the drip. I have been fine since.
The company that distributes the drip is Optum, a subsidiary of United Healthcare. Managing this through Optum is a horrible experience. I have to call them monthly to ensure the products are delivered. They send me the same email each month with the same questions, so I just cut and paste the answers from the previous month. It is irritating because this should all be systemized through technology, which United Healthcare lacks.
The worst part is the billing. At first, they would call me each month, and I tried to get them to email the statement so I could pay online. That took quite some time, but eventually, they did that. Their online payment is so bad that it is probably software built-in 1995. I get an email that has an attachment to the bill. There is nowhere to click, so I must cut and paste the URL into the bill to get to the site. A few clicks later (and about ten minutes), I logged in again with information that should be accessible when I log in, and I paid. There is no way most people could figure this out and my gut is most people who are receiving care from Optum are older not younger.
Last week, I spent an hour on the phone with them because they believed I owed them money, although my credit card statement clearly stated that I had paid them for every service.
I have taken the time to take their “survey” and give feedback, which is a joke. Heather Cianfrocco is the CEO, and from my sleuthing online, she is praised for her CEO status as one of the most powerful women. Really? People applaud her in her own company’s echo chamber, and she deserves recognition. Spare me, her company sucks, and they are supposed to support the consumer, not make their lives more painful. Dealing with insurance is one of the hells on earth.
Has she looked at the data? How many of their bills are unpaid because they have zero technology? That they spend money dialing for dollars? I spend time every month talking to someone when this all could be done with intelligent systems in place. I bet there is a severe deficit in payments to Optum.
This is a microcosm of the frustration in our country. Shitty systems gauge people who are at their wit’s end just trying to do the right thing and get the help they need. I do not applaud that the former CEO of United Healthcare was murdered in broad daylight, but if people are wondering why many consider Luigi Mangione a hero, it is because of the experience, the treatment, the disregard, the antiquated systems, the entire system just sucks.
Maybe Trump should get Elon on this.
