(Reuters) – United Health Group said a hospital mistake was behind the phone, causing the surgeon to pull out of the operating room to protect the patient's stay.
UnitedHealth said before the phone it had already approved the treatment and overnight stay for surgeon Elizabeth Potter patients. The representative called the hospital to discuss the request for another inpatient stay.
“Our representative asked me to speak to a nurse who cared for the patient. He didn't ask me to be transferred to the operating room department, but to speak with a doctor during the surgery. That was the case. The company said.
According to Bloomberg News, the hospital where the incident occurred has been identified as HCA St. David Medical Center in Austin, Texas.
Earlier this month, Potter posted on social media platform X and said he was called out from the operating room to justify patient care for the insurance company.
On February 17, Pershing Square CEO Ackman said UnitedHealth had sent a letter of honor and loss to Potter, offering to pay the bill.
Ackman had previously posted to X, but now he was taking a short position in the healthcare conglomerate in a deleted post.
“If I still shorted the stock, I'll shorten UnitedHealth,” Ackman said in his post on February 17th, “very exaggerated due to the denial of medically necessary procedures. “It's been done.”
The health insurance company shares rose 2% in afternoon trading.
(Reporting by Christy Santhosh of Bengaluru, Editing by Mohammed Safi Shamsi)
