A Colorado dentist has taken a bold stand against health insurance giant Humana after the company denied coverage for an elderly patient's routine teeth cleaning. Dr. Taylor Ross, frustrated by the insurer's decision, displayed the denial on a digital billboard outside his office. The billboard also featured the name of Humana CEO Bruce Bossard, along with Bossard's reported 2023 earnings of $16.3 million.
"Stories like this strike a chord across the country. The system is not working very well-the insurance companies deny, delay, confuse-all those tactics make it so difficult that we give up," Ross told USA Today.
Ross's public protest comes amid growing frustration with for-profit health insurers, as more healthcare professionals speak out against industry practices that prioritize profits over patient care.
Ross's experience is not unique. Across the country, doctors and dentists have been increasingly vocal about what they describe as aggressive denial tactics by major insurance companies. In some cases, healthcare providers who speak out face serious pushback from insurers.
UnitedHealthcare (UHC), one of the country's largest insurers, has been accused of going so far as to disrupt medical procedures to pressure doctors into cost-cutting decisions. Texas-based surgeon Dr. Elisabeth Potter recently went viral after revealing that a UHC representative interrupted her in the middle of a breast cancer surgery. The representative questioned whether it was absolutely necessary for her patient to stay overnight following the operation-while the procedure was still in progress.
Potter's post, shared widely on TikTok and Instagram, drew national attention to the issue of insurers interfering with medical decisions. Now, UHC is reportedly threatening her with legal action in response to her public criticism.
Ross and Potter's stories highlight what many see as a deeply flawed system-one where corporate profits take precedence over patient well-being. Critics argue that insurance companies have created a system designed to make care more difficult to access, exhausting both providers and patients with bureaucratic hurdles and outright denials.
Sarah M. Worthy, CEO of DoorSpace, a company focused on supporting healthcare professionals, believes that insurers are pushing their own downfall with these tactics.
"Insurance executives are driving their own demise with every profit-first decision they make. Americans can't afford them any longer. Ninety-five percent of U.S. healthcare profits are going directly into for-profit shareholder pockets. We're fed up. Americans are getting ready to cancel for-profit health insurance," Worthy stated in response to Ross's protest.
Her statement reflects a growing movement of patients and providers calling for systemic change. Many are questioning why for-profit insurance companies should be allowed to make life-or-death decisions when their financial incentives are directly tied to denying care.
As frustration builds, some advocates are pushing for legislative action to curb insurance companies' ability to deny claims without cause. Others argue that the entire for-profit model of healthcare insurance needs to be reevaluated.
Meanwhile, professionals like Ross and Potter are determined to continue exposing what they see as an exploitative system. By taking their frustrations public, they hope to rally public support for a healthcare system that prioritizes patient care over corporate earnings.
The conversation around health insurance reform is not new, but with more healthcare providers taking a stand, the pressure on lawmakers and industry leaders to act is growing. Whether this latest wave of outrage will lead to meaningful change remains to be seen, but one thing is clear: doctors and patients alike are tired of fighting insurers for the care they need.