UnitedHealth, the health insurer whose CEO was allegedly assassinated outside a hotel in New York City, secretly paid nursing homes not to transfer seriously ill patients to hospitals. The Guardian reports that the cost-cutting plan "saved the company millions" at the cost of patients' health.
In several cases identified by the Guardian, nursing home residents who needed immediate hospital care under the program failed to receive it, after interventions from UnitedHealth staffers. At least one lived with permanent brain damage following his delayed transfer, according to a confidential nursing home incident log, recordings and photo evidence. … The company also monitored nursing homes that had smaller numbers of patients with "do not resuscitate" – or DNR – and "do not intubate" orders in their files. Without such orders, patients are in line for certain life-saving treatments that might lead to costly hospital stays.
The implication is that UnitedHealth staffers created pressure to add "do not resuscitate" and "do not intubate" directives for patients. Under other circumstances it could be murder. UnitedHealth, in a statement, denies that the payments were secret, that it intervened to prevent transfers to hospital, or that it pressued anyone to sign "do not resuscitate" directives. However…
Unnecessary hospitalizations pose real risks. Hospital-associated complications (HACs) are a significant and well-documented issue in acute hospital stays for elderly adults. These complications, which include delirium, functional decline, falls, incontinence, and pressure injuries, are prevalent and detrimental to patient outcomes.
If you're insured by UnitedHealth, it's good to know that it will do everything it can to ensure you don't suffer any of the "prevalent" injuries or ailments caused by hospitalization.
Luigi Mangione, identified as the man who shot Brian Thompson, was charged with first-degree murder in furtherance of terrorism and two counts of second-degree murder, use of weapons, and forgery—a thrown book described by the New York Times as "legal choreography".
