UnitedHealthcare Deletes Incriminating Chat

[u/One_Combination5776]

I had a certain medical appointment. I used the chat function about a month ago to verify that it was covered and what my out of pocket total would be. I provided all information such as facility name, address, Tax ID, and NPI number. They explicitly said that it is in network, is covered, and what the total is.

Fast forward a month and it was NOT covered. I knew someone somewhere told me it was but forgot who I talked to. I then scrolled up and saw it was in this chat that I verified the confirmation. I took pictures of the chat on my phone and called them out, telling them they told me in the chat it’s covered. I will have to have the medical office re-submit to insurance under a different code or something.

I then went back to look at those messages where they claimed to cover it. They were GONE. Just 30 minutes later. They weren’t the oldest or newest messages. Right in the middle. Messages before and after were still there.

I then called them out saying those messages are gone and I have screenshots proving they said the appointment is covered. And guess what, they are back an hour later.

I checked through the chat over and over to make sure my eyes were not deceiving me and that I wasn’t crazy. I also had my wife verify too.

I truly believed they made that section of the chat not visible to me, so I wouldn’t have proof of them saying it’s covered. Once I called them out and said I have proof, they brought it back. The coincidence is too large.

Has this happened to anyone else? Is this something they can do?

[u/theglueiseverywhere]

I fully believe you. I do the insurance billing for a small private practice and was able to get two denials overturned using chat conversations I had saved with representatives that had quoted me that something would be covered for a patient. Yes, there are disclaimers they give, but in these 2 specific cases, they did honor what the rep said. We immediately dropped participation with them after winning those appeals. The amount of work I had to put in was nuts.

[u/[deleted] → u/theglueiseverywhere]

Yep. I had a provider qualified through a network deficiency and prior Auth.

They have so far: Lost the nd Lost the pa Billed oon for approved codes Lost checks  Changed the codes 

It's been 8 months and I'm out a grand.

[u/milkandsalsa → u/[deleted]]

Class. Action. Lawsuit.

[u/Savingskitty → u/milkandsalsa]

What class?  

[u/c0rp_53110ut → u/Savingskitty]

Preferably an abrupt and existential one.

[u/Savingskitty → u/c0rp_53110ut]

What does that mean?  Do y’all know what a class action lawsuit is?

[u/Inner_Department3 → u/[deleted]]

I did medical billing back before the internet was widely used to verify benefits or confirm coverage. It was a nightmare. I'd call to verify benefits, write down everything contemporaneously, of course, and they'd later deny the claim. I'd call and push back and they'd use their disclaimer. Patients would scream at me for "my" mistake.