'Out of control': Cancer surgeon claims UnitedHealthcare questioned her mid-procedure [View all]

https://www.rawstory.com/out-of-control-cancer-surgeon-tells-of-insurance-co-questioning-her-mid-procedure/

'Out of control': Cancer surgeon claims UnitedHealthcare questioned her mid-procedure

Jennifer Bowers Bahney
Jan 9, 2025

A breast cancer surgeon had to "scrub out mid-surgery" to call a UnitedHealthcare representative because the insurance giant questioned whether the procedure she was in the middle of performing was really necessary.

Dr. Elisabeth Potter posted her story to Instagram this week, and the post has gotten more than 221,000 likes.

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She continued, saying that while performing a Deep Inferior Epigastric Perforator, or "DIEP," breast reconstruction for a cancer patient, "I got a phone call into the operating room saying that UnitedHealthcare wanted me to call them about one of the patients who was having surgery today — who's actually asleep, having surgery."

"And, you know, said I had to call 'right now.' So, I scrubbed out of my case and I called UnitedHealthcare, and the gentleman said he needed some information about her. Wanted to know her diagnosis and whether her inpatient stay should be justified. And I was like, 'Do you understand this? She's asleep right now and she has breast cancer?' And the gentleman said, 'Actually, I don't — that's a different department that would know that information.'"

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