2/4
Someone I know, let’s call them Carey, works for Optum Health, a subsidiary of UnitedHealth Group. A few years back, Carey said their new healthcare plan at Optum had been switched to a high-deductible health plan (HDHP) paired with a health savings account (HSA). They now have to pay monthly out of pocket for a portion of their healthcare premium.

For those of you outside the US who may not be aware of the scourge that is an HDHP, I’ll try to explain. An HDHP is basically catastrophic health coverage paired with a savings account that comes with all sorts of tax advantages to encourage people to put aside money for their healthcare. “Personal responsibility” and all that. In order to open and contribute to an HSA, your healthcare plan must achieve a certain level of shittiness.

How shitty? For 2025, an HDHP must have a deductible of *at least* $1,650 for self-only coverage, or $3,300 for family coverage. Annual out-of-pocket expense maximums (deductibles, co-payments and other amounts, but not premiums) cannot exceed $8,300 for self-only coverage or $16,600 for family coverage. In summary, these plans are so shitty that in addition to the high premiums paid to cover your family with an HDHP, you could pay an additional $16,600 annually out-of-pocket for healthcare.

As compensation for having such a shitty health plan, the US Internal Revenue Service allows you to contribute annually up to $4,300 as an individual or $8,550 as a family tax-free into an HSA account. The money is not taxed upon withdrawal as long as it is used to pay for healthcare expenses, as defined by the IRS. Further, if you invest the money in your HSA, earnings are also not taxed. This is why rich people *love* HSAs, but that is for another post.

#Healthcare #UnitedHealth #USPol #USPolitics #BrianThompson #HealthcareIsAHumanRight #GetProfitOutOfHealthcare

3/4
In the 1990s, I used to work where Carey works. Back then, it was called The Polyclinic, an independent, Seattle-based, physician-owned, multispecialty medical clinic with 89 physicians. The Polyclinic’s ownership structure granted one share to to each physician. Physician-owners’ votes dictated policy change. As an employee back then, I had full health coverage with no out-of-pocket costs.

The Polyclinic has been the target of multiple acquisitions. The Polyclinic is no more. It now runs under the brand of Optum, a UnitedHealth subsidiary. The physician-ownership structure is long gone. So is the good employee health insurance coverage.

In 2018, UnitedHealth purchased The Polyclinic, which until that point had remained “staunchly independent for more than century.” According to Carey, things went south pretty quickly from there.

Carey says their HSA balance at Optum Bank always zeroes out because they must use the money saved there to cover out-of-pocket health expenses, because, you know, high deductibles. So, at minimum, Optum skims another $1 per month off them in fees due to not meeting the $500 balance threshold. Talk about adding insult to injury.

#Healthcare #UnitedHealth #USPol #USPolitics #BrianThompson #HealthcareIsAHumanRight #GetProfitOutOfHealthcare

4/4
So, besides denial of care, UnitedHealth menaces our society in other ways. UnitedHealth’s acquisition rampage has gobbled up independent healthcare companies on its quest for monopoly control. UnitedHealth has also vertically consolidated to capture as many healthcare dollars as possible, even running their own bank to extract junk fees from health savings deposits.

So, imagine you work a shit job (at a healthcare provider!) with shit employer healthcare coverage that not only has the highest industry denial rate, it can leave you with $16,600 in uncovered healthcare expenses annually by design. That insurance plan pairs with a company-town-style bank that nickels and dimes your scant savings (because, you know, shit job).

Psychopath Brian Thompson created this. It was his life’s work. What a total shitbag.

#Healthcare #UnitedHealth #USPol #USPolitics #BrianThompson #HealthcareIsAHumanRight #GetProfitOutOfHealthcare