United Heathcare Is the Devil and Prejudice Against Women

Posted by Susan on 2012-07-17:

If this insurance is provided by your employer then they are the ones that decided what would be covered and what would not.

Posted by KevinTX on 2012-07-17:

As susan said.

Posted by Bill on 2012-07-17:

Most plans will not pay for the synthetic hormone therapies. It's kind of stupid but that's the way it is. The FDA/AMA has not certified them even though they work. My wife has been on them for about 6 years now and it's $270.00 out of pocket twice a year.
That's why we use the Medical spending accounts.
At least the $270.00 is before tax.
By the way we have Aetna with a fortune 100 company.

Posted by JISCal2 on 2012-07-17:

Susan is correct. Your employer can ask that extra services/ treatments be included in the coverage providing they are willing to pay the extra premium which they would then pass on to the employees.

Posted by onlooker on 2012-07-18:

As paychecks are not equal- hence tailored to gender, shouldn't insurance automatically be tailored to gender??

If the effects of high cholesterol are equal to male and female employees - it does seem 'unfair' that the testing is not covered. Male staff are more vulnerable? Women less valued?

In all seriousness some therapies are just not covered. But the employer is the one making the coverage decisions, based on costs/coverage options supplied by the insurer, paid for by employees.

Posted by madconsumer on 2012-07-18:

"Most plans will not pay for the synthetic hormone therapies."


you mean natural hormones. insurance does pay for HRT for women, just not the natural alternatives.

Posted by clutzycook on 2012-07-18:

A lot of insurance companies will not pay for certain types of PAP tests because it hasn't necessarily been proven to them that they are any more accurate than the types that they already cover. If your physician feels that you really really need this type of test, you or he/she can appeal to the insurance company for a waiver. Their initial "no" isn't necessarially their final answer. Like someone mentioned earlier, I don't think natural hormone replacement has been approved by the FDA, so insurance won't touch it. I'm not sure why women's cholesterol screenings aren't covered since it's been proven that heart disease related deaths among women is pretty high. If UHC really doesn't cover them for women, I can bet that there is at least one group/hospital/clinic in your area that do free cholesterol screenings once or twice a year or so, you just have to keep your eyes peeled for them. I know that's not exactly the point of your post, but my point of view is that all private insurance companies stink in one way or another and you sometimes have to find ways to circumvent/outsmart them.

Posted by CowboyFan on 2012-07-18:

Nothing stops the op from paying for these services themselves. In order to keep premiums at a reasonable level, there has to be limits on what preventative testing is covered. Obviously, insurance companies cover those things which have been found to be most likely to discover problems.

It has nothing to do with gender discrimination. The idea that insurance should cover every test, no matter how remote the possiblity of problems, is what make premiums so high.

Posted by Starlord on 2012-07-18:

So UHC discriminates against women, eh? Then why is it they will pay for birth control pills, but I have to pay nine bucks a pill to treat ED. Does that seem fair and equitable to you?