After reviewing leaked documents, we have found UnitedHealth is strategically limiting access to a treatment for thousands of children with autism across the country in order to cut costs.

Advocates say the company’s strategy may be illegal.



👇propublica.org/article/united… We have obtained what is effectively the company’s strategic playbook for limiting access to a type of therapy for kids with autism.

Through its Optum subsidiary, is "pursuing market-specific action plans” and "optimization efforts" to limit children’s access to the treatment.

America is in the midst of a mental health crisis. But finding a therapist who takes insurance can feel impossible.

Insurers say that’s because there aren’t enough therapists.

We found that's not entirely true.

Here's why you can't find a therapist🧵👇projects.propublica.org/why-i-left-the… We heard from 500+ mental health providers: therapists, social workers, psychologists and psychiatrists.

Many spent years studying and honing their skills. They opened mental health practices and joined insurance networks to treat people who couldn’t afford to pay out of pocket.

NEW: Dr. Caitlin Hicks and fellow researchers warned that some doctors appeared to be overusing lucrative vascular procedures, needlessly exposing patients to risk of harm.

For her research, she was accused of "fratricide" and called a "nazi."

My latest: propublica.org/article/resear…
ProPublica has spent the past year investigating vascular procedures, and we've chronicled horror story after horror story of patients who lost their legs from complications after lucrative procedures. propublica.org/series/arteria…

NEW: Years ago, researchers warned the fed govt that some doctors may be overusing certain medical procedures so egregiously, they may be a "threat to public safety."

We looked into it, and found doctors making millions as patients risked life and limb: propublica.org/article/maryla… The procedures in question are used to treat a common medical condition: clogged leg vessels (also known as peripheral arterial disease), which impacts more than 6.5 million Americans.

NEW: About one month ago, we received an anonymous tip:

"PLEASE look into what happened at the Robert J Dole VA…hundreds of local military heroes had their legs mutilated…and nobody has been held accountable."

And so I started to dig….a thread:
propublica.org/article/medtro… Back in 2017, a whistleblower lawsuit made some disturbing claims:

VA hospital workers in Kansas allegedly received kickbacks from a medical device company, whose sales reps then “groomed and trained” doctors to excessively use their devices in patients, putting them at risk.

NEW: When we first heard that Louisiana had quietly opened up a new lockup for teens, where they were shackled, held in solitary w/ no education, we almost didn't believe it. The reality was so much worse.

A collab w/ @schwartzapfel + @erinleinhorn + me
propublica.org/article/shackl… @schwartzapfel @erinleinhorn Last year, as Louisiana was scrambling to respond to a wave of violence and escapes at juvenile facilities, state officials quietly opened up a high-security lockup for the most troubled teens in their care

Update: Lawmakers have introduced legislation requiring the @usedgov to publicly disclose which schools have been accused of civil rights violations as well as any corrective actions or other resolutions of its probes: propublica.org/article/devos-… The proposed bill follows @ProPublica’s reporting that found Secretary of Education DeVos has scuttled +1200 civil rights probes that were opened under Obama: propublica.org/article/devos-…