Shifty practices by health insurance companies put me on edge, and I hate seeing it done to others. There was probably once or twice in your life when your insurance company tried to pull the wool over your eyes. A Missouri healthcare advocate has been videoing interactions between herself and other workers, as well as with insurance companies. She does this as a way to bring real concerns to light that patients face on a daily basis.
Claudia, @c_money636, shared a TikTok video where she asks her co-worker, Julie, an important question regarding healthcare. She makes these videos frequently and it serves as a way to enlighten patients about their rights and other important aspects. In her TikTok video she asks Julie, “What grinds your gears today about health insurance?”
Julie means business and immediately takes off her glasses to answer. She replies, “Medical records.” She then explains patients trust their insurance companies to keep their medical records private. However, she says patients have their information and records consistently faxed to “god knows where in India.” When the insurance companies don’t have the records, they “magically never receives them.”
You don’t want your private healthcare information swimming all over the country or outsourced to other countries. Insurance companies can and often do share information with India and other outsourcing countries. They’ll use India for customer service reasons, claims processing, and more in an attempt to save money. Insurance companies truly can’t be trusted.
They will, however, say they’re following HIPAA guidelines by doing so. But if they’re losing so many people’s records and your information is so far out of your reach, how can you trust this as a patient? An insurance company can make the claim that they’re complying with strict rules to protect the patient’s privacy. However, it’s unclear if that’s even actually happening.
Claudia and Julie are doing the real work by sharing information about what goes on in America’s healthcare system. Some of it may be scary or alarming, but it’s better to be informed with the truth. And honestly, do you really want your medical records in the hands of questionable third parties?
