Doctor’s Viral Rant About Our Broken Health Insurance System Sparks Debate Online

People have been saying the medical system in the U.S. is broken for decades, but it’s usually the patients going bankrupt or untreated who we hear from. Now, doctors are sharing how difficult it is to do their job with the way insurance companies work, deciding who gets what care even when it should be the doctor’s job to decide.

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A doctor named Andrew Carroll tweeted about going through an incredibly difficult conversation with an insurance company that left him in tears.

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“I think I’m finally broken,” Dr. Carroll wrote. “Insurance company denied a CT Chest on a young woman with post-Covid syndrome. And while describing why I wanted it, I broke down in tears. It’s too much. We want to do the right thing, and stupid rules keep us from being effective for our patients.”

@drcarroll/Twitter

Dr. Carroll’s post went viral, and people started replying to it with their own stories of wrestling with insurance companies, even offering a few tips on how to deal with the situation from a doctor or patient’s perspective:

I agree, and I think that’s where we’re headed. Insurance companies have failed in their mission–they only serve themselves, their stockholders, the employers, and the administrative network they’ve created to sustain them. The patient is an expense line item.

— Andrew Carroll, MD (@drcarroll) March 2, 2021

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That is awful. A big reason they’re doing that is because there are companies that offer cut-rate telemed services (such as Teladoc, AmericaWell, etc) that they want patients to use instead. Hopefully we can get Federal legislation to mandate coverage.

— Andrew Carroll, MD (@drcarroll) March 2, 2021

This happened to my mother. She had to be in a nursing home for 6 weeks to get a once-daily IV antibiotic through a PICC line. I had to care for my dad, who was senile and not able yo care for himself.

The rule makes zero sense, medically or practically.

— Kevin Kehres (@kevin_kehres) March 3, 2021

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Then, they put me on hold and get somebody who can approve it.

Works every time unless the patient has a super high deductible b/c outpatient imaging is cheaper for them than an ED visit.

— Dr. Victoria Dooley (@DrDooleyMD) March 2, 2021

AND by someone with zero medical training.

— Connie Harrison…… Wear a damn mask! (@Constance4239) March 3, 2021

Crying is human, and I accept it. I do not want to lose my humanity through all of this. Our patients need us to be strong guides through this horrible time, but they also need us to be compassionate humans with the heart and mind to help them through it.

— Andrew Carroll, MD (@drcarroll) March 2, 2021

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Well, that sure gets tests done quicker and without auth requirements. I’m glad you found a new path. Some docs leave completely.

I will point out the insurance hypocrisy of paying for an ER workup without question, but denying some $20 tests at the primary care office.

— Andrew Carroll, MD (@drcarroll) March 2, 2021

This makes me so angry. We can’t read the news without being our own fact checker and we need our own medical degree to get proper care. I can’t argue with a more informed ins co and win and drs can’t fight for every patient.

— Mher Angora (@Mhera_) March 3, 2021

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I have two patients with Mantle Cell Lymphoma currently. One of my patients with this just died (I had 3). I know that PET/CT is crucial for staging, for intervention (decisions on remission versus aggressive chemo), etc. Insurance companies need to accept it and allow it.

— Andrew Carroll, MD (@drcarroll) March 2, 2021

I have to fight so much to get opiate pain meds approved for patients with terminal cancer! It has gotten so bad. Our wonderful RNs do most of the heavy lifting.

— Emily Giesel (@EmilyGiesel) March 3, 2021

In an interview with Bored Panda, Dr. Carroll elaborated on the issue with health insurance companies.

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“Their job is not to pay for healthcare but avoid paying for healthcare,” he said. “It is a terrible system.”

Dr. Carroll added that he has wanted to be a doctor since he was only five-years-old, and was dealing with serious medical issues of his own. His doctors then impressed him with their care and compassion and it was the kind of doctor he wanted to be.

“I wanted to do that for others, and so far I think I have done so,” Dr. Carroll said. “Insurance companies make it difficult though, and nearly force cold, inhumane, and compassionless rules on patients when they are most vulnerable.”

Thanks for telling it like it is, doctor.

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*First Published: March 6, 2021, 9:06 am