Conversation

One thing I’d love to get included in the insurance discussion is the mental toll these denials take. Not to pathologize people, but normalize how humans instinctively respond to constant threat to life and well-being. I was retained as an expert witness in Chris’ case against UHC to discuss 2 things: if I thought the stress from them denying his treatment could exacerbate his autoimmune disease (it did IMO) and how the denial impacted his mental health. Catastrophic medical illness already can lead some people to develop post-traumatic stress disorder symptoms, and insurance denials just compound this. I’m not sure how people are just supposed to be ok with all of this shit. But medical trauma is real and needs to be brought into the conversation.