I don’t say this very often…but this is INSANE.
A doctor named Elisabeth posted a video on TikTok and told viewers a shocking story about a call she received while she was performing surgery on a patient.
Yes, you read that correctly…
The doctor said she was performing surgery when the call came in.
She explained, “So I scrubbed out of my case and I called UnitedHealthcare, and the gentleman said he needed some information about [the patient].”
She added that they “wanted to know her diagnosis and whether her inpatient stay should be justified.”
She said, “I was like, ‘Do you understand that she’s asleep right now and she had breast cancer?’ The gentleman said, ‘Actually, I don’t, that’s a different department that would know that information.’”
The doctor told the caller that the patient did need to stay overnight and she went back to doing her job.
Potter informed the representative that UnitedHealthcare had approved the surgery, that the patient did need to stay in the hospital overnight, and that they had all the information they needed already. She then went back to doing her job.
Check out the video.
@drelisabethpotter It’s 2025, and navigating insurance has somehow gotten even more out of control… I just performed two bilateral DIEP flap surgeries and two bilateral tissue expander surgeries. During one of the DIEP cases, I was interrupted by a call from United Healthcare—while the patient was already asleep on the operating table. They demanded information about her diagnosis and inpatient stay justification. I had to scrub out mid-surgery to call United, only to find that the person on the line didn’t even have access to the patient’s full medical information, despite the procedure already being pre-approved. It’s beyond frustrating and, frankly, unacceptable. Patients and providers deserve better than this. We should be focused on care, not bureaucracy. I just have no other words at this point
Now let’s see what folks had to say on TikTok.
This person chimed in.
Another TikTokker asked a question.
And this individual shared their thoughts.
Healthcare in America needs some serious help…
If you liked that story, check out this one about a 72-year-old woman was told by her life insurance company that her policy was worthless because she’d paid for 40 years. 🙁