United Healhcare and ethics (re: Alliant Dermatology)
 

From UHC's website:
About UnitedHealth Group - Ethics & Integrity
UnitedHealth Group is committed to the highest standards of integrity.
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Talk is cheap easy. When I enquired about the coming termination of Alliant Dermatology's contract, I received a terse form letter that said absolutely nothing.

Somehow, UHC tends to lose sight of the consumer.
I'd really like someone from UHC to prove me wrong with facts about this specific case. An open challenge. We need good medical providers in this community.

Thank you for starting this thread. UHC is concerned about $. In this aging demographic, skin cancer is much more common when compared with the incidence in the general population. Surgeries are expensive. Unfortunately, skin cancer = surgery most of the time.

Yes, there may be 40 other dermatologists on the list. Not a valid argument. Do your research. I found one whose credentials I liked but he is not taking new patients.

The Villages population is now over 120,000 and growing rapidly. Does anyone think a new dermatology practice would open here after seeing Alliant’s fate?

For those who never need a dermatologist, you may think it’s no big deal.

What expensive specialty is next?

Only Casper knows why 39 other Dermatologists are chosen and he was dropped. ALL of your conclusions are simply speculative, including unless you are a medical professional, the need for surgeries because we are older. We also tend to be more gullible as we age. As a patient for many years, Casper still has not told me why he was rejected. I find that to be irresponsible. A letter on his website has zero details. It is a PR game and a lot of “gullible’ people fell for it. How can anyone support a doctor who will not tell you why he was rejected from your insurer?
I spend most of my time in NY and go to a Dermatologist there for 30 years. The number of surgeries I had in The Villages both with TRAN and CASPER ...at least a dozen...greatly outweigh the number of surgeries I had in NY with two different Dermatologists. You can draw your own conclusions. I made mine. Tran and Casper made my decision easier since they are no longer in my Plan. I have at least 25 other doctors in NY to choose from and close to 40 in the Villages region in my Plan. Plenty of choices. To say that UHC is the culprit whenthey give me 65 other doctors to choose from is quite a stretch.

Skin cancers in elderly patients. - PubMed - NCBI

Just one of many sources.

Just out of curiosity, Casper is still listed on the UH website as a provider. We know he's not. How do we know if any of the other dermatologists listed haven't been dropped too? Was Casper's practice the only one?

Alliant is terminated effective September 1. No knowledge about any others.

Our own personal experience with Alliant is that they haven't pushed anything on us in the several years we have gone there. I had one spot frozen and biopsied (result benign), and my husband had a mole removed from the side of his face at his request. That's it. We both have rough spots here and there that we've worried about, and a couple of other things, and the assistants have always said nothing is suspicious looking. I really would have never thought they were over-pushing surgery.

I hope he doesn't have to close up shop over this. (We have supplemental plans and will still go there.)

The reason is because the sun don’t shine that much in New York!!!

Health-care is changing ALL over the country. Mayo has bought up small hospitals in the upper midwest and now are pulling "some" services and consolidating them. It's a hardship in those communities that are losing services and now will have to travel many/many miles. The aging population there are particularily in a conundrum because of not driving distance or driving at all anymore. There's more to it then I'm telling but---it's just something we need to be aware of. We constantly NEED to self-advocate as well, which becomes harder as we age.

I think you are right...…….and a little bit wrong. It may be the right answer, but staying afloat and keeping a profit margin is not sinful.

There Today
 

We have been patients of Dr. Casper from the time he opened his practice here. My husband had a surgery for a squamous cell carcinoma utilizing the MOHS procedure today. He had originally been scheduled for excising the lesion, but it was so large that by going the MOHS route, no skin grafting was required.

Although, it does not apply to us, we were given the notice of the UHC decision when we arrived. He wants all of his patients to be aware of what is happening. He is taking steps to appeal and reverse their decision.

I have my own ideas of why UHC and AARP Advantage are dropping Alliant, and as someone else pointed out, who knows how many others are next. We encountered this same thing prior to our retirement with the company insurance we had. It was an HMO and we suddenly lost our doctor. We had been forced into FirstCare with no choice. Our previous doctor was not a member, so we had to change. When our FirstCare doctor had to drop us (on orders from FirstCare), our previous doctor had signed on since a large percentage of his practice was from our plant. Forthunately, he knew how to deal with them. There is much more to this story, but you can probably get the picture. PM me if you want more details.

I know there are many here who really like their system, but I decided early on that it was not for us, nor would it ever be. Hopefully, that will never change. We have a Humana PPO Advantage Plan and are totally pleased with it.

The Villages Health has hired its own dermatologist. They are redirecting business to reduce its loses.

Yes. He has stellar credentials. He is now on their website. He is part-time and is taking no new patients (even though he just recently arrived). He is in process of recruiting derm providers who will populate TVH Specialty facility. How do I know this? I called TVH Specialty and they told me this.

The new team, of course, will accept UHC.

Draw your own conclusions.

I don't believe the reason given because you don't need a UHC advantage plan to see a TVH specialist. My wife sees a TVH rheumatologist and she has original Medicare.

I think David Casper and his practice will be o.k. It is his well educated skill and gentleness and polite and caring manner coupled with a lot of hard work that has earned him this very rapid success here, now having Three locations in less than seven years. That will not change and everyone who consults with him will continue saying the honest good things they have said and he will be continue to successfully maintain his practice. I feel sad for the people who do not have the insurance that covers his practice. In this day and age that happens much more than it used to. I somehow believe that NO ONE did anything wrong. But I still don't understand.