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[–] 308 points 2 years ago* (18 children)

You'd think UHC would strive to behave impeccably with all the publicity around them lately. But no: they're so shameless and so greedy they even behave rotten when everybody is busy dissecting their every moves. Amazing...

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  • [–] 110 points 2 years ago (4 children)
  • [–] 34 points 2 years ago (2 children)

    If that were the case, they'd have off'd the CEO themselves. That's multi-millions that could go back to other higher-ups. Then we have a Highlander situation.

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  • [–] 49 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    The CEO serves a very important role in that they get all the fallout for what the board probably wants, and then if there's enough bad publicity, they can fire the CEO and pretend that the CEO acted entirely out of their own volition.

    I mean that's not to say they're not greedy bloodsuckers, but they're greedy bloodsuckers that the board needs. Because the board are even bigger greedy bloodsuckers and want to stay out of the news.

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  • [–] 47 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    Because doing otherwise wouldn't maximize profits. There's no actual competition in the market for consumers to choose. Nearly all Americans get insurance through their work, and have absolutely no say in what companies those options are from, and those options might only change at the end of the year if the company changes their insurance partner (which I'm sure takes months to negotiate). UHC has no reason to change unless they are forced to. Customer Satisfaction in the industry is abysmal because there's no incentive for the companies to actually be good.

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  • [–] 21 points 2 years ago

    I don't think you can pivot a 465 billion dollar company. Especially one where being unethical is a profit making feature.

    They won't fix themselves, hell why even reign it in if the system rewards bad behavior?

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  • [–] 21 points 2 years ago

    In Corey Doctorow's short story (Radicalized, in the collection Radicalized) the health fund attackers typically used explosives against the entire board and their support staff

    I wonder if that would be more effective

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  • [–] 8 points 2 years ago

    CEO's come and go and one just went

    The ingredients you got bake the cake you get

    So, if you get sick, cross your fingers for luck

    'Cause old Richard T. Burke ain't givin' a fuck

    • Jesse Wells, United Health
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  • [–] 6 points 2 years ago (1 child)

    What incentivize do they have? The vast majority of their customers have no choice but to be their customers. They just need to keep the companies that companies contract with to set up benefits happy. That's a very small pool and most aren't customers of theirs. And especially with the anti-regulation party coming into power, there's no reason to fear government intervention. But even before that, it wasnt really a threat.

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