A thread 🧵on the implosion of America’s biggest health insurer @UHC —and what it says about our system:
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UnitedHealth ($UNH), the largest health insurer in the U.S., is under federal criminal investigation for possible Medicare fraud.
Stock is down 50%.
CEO Andrew Witty “resigned” for personal reasons.
Investors are stunned.
Patients?
Just trying to get someone to approve their MRI.
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This isn’t just a company collapsing;
it’s the entire healthcare industry revealing its true nature.
If you’re saving this, you must definitely follow @DutchRojas.
He has been highlighting these issues for years.
Healthcare isn’t failing;
it’s operating exactly as it was intended to.
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@UHC The DOJ’s healthcare fraud unit is reportedly leading the probe.
UnitedHealth responded like every well-lawyered corporation under fire:
“We haven’t been notified, but we deny it anyway.”
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@UHC Meanwhile, UnitedHealth quietly dragged its CEO offstage and brought back their former CEO from 2006–2017.
Because nothing screams “accountability” like asking the guy who built the Death Star to come fix the Death Star.
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Let’s rewind:
• They “pay bills” on behalf of 51 million people
• Run one of the largest PBMs in the world
• Control the care and the coverage
• Called a “nonprofit partner” in some states
• Now under investigation for defrauding Medicare
This isn’t healthcare. It’s a casino.
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@UHC This is what happens when the US government writes laws that help large corporations more than citizens.
Profits go up
Patient care stagnates
Accountability disappears
And the government becomes a silent business partner.
Everyone eats—except the sick.
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@UHC And yet people were on CNBC this week saying UnitedHealth was “essential.”
If United Healthcare is essential, then fraud is just billing innovation.
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@UHC Here’s the full story UnitedHealth probably doesn’t want you to read:
Healthcare in America isn’t broken.
It’s doing exactly what it’s supposed to—
for shareholders.
Red States Aren’t Conservative in Healthcare.
They’re Running Socialist Cartels
Republicans love shouting “free enterprise.”
It’s on the bumper stickers, the podiums, the merch,
basically everywhere except in their healthcare policies.
A THREAD about the fake Republican States on Healthcare.
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In much of the South, competition isn’t weak.
It’s illegal.
The states yelling the loudest about freedom,
built the most protectionist healthcare markets in America.
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Start with Certificate of Need laws (CON),
the Soviet holdover nobody wants to talk about.
CON laws block hospitals, ASCs, imaging centers,
and physician-owned facilities from opening or expanding.
Not because patients don’t need them.
But because incumbents don’t want competition.
If you think RED STATES must stop blocking physicians from competing, share this.
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You can’t shop for care during a car crash.” This is one of the dumbest argument in U.S. healthcare.
And it’s repeated endlessly by politicians protecting their $$$$$ as they try to justify keeping prices hidden from patients, employers, and innovators.
Let’s destroy it.
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There are 17 billion medical services delivered in the U.S. every year.
The “everything’s an emergency” excuse?
It’s fiction.
Here’s what the actual data says:
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The CDC reports 155.4 million ER visits per year.
• 17.8 million result in hospital admission
• 3.1 million go to critical care
That means 98% of ER visits aren’t ICU-level emergencies.
So what about the other 16.98 billion medical services?
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